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CREATION 


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CONTINENTS 


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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 

MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


DIAGRAM  MAP   OF  TH] 


OUTLINES 


OP 


fiEONOMT 


A  TREATISE   ON  THE 


PHYSICAL  LAWS  OF  THE  EARTH 


AND  THE 


CREATION    OF    THE    CONTINENTS 


FOUNDED    UPON    RECENT    DISCOVERIES. 


J.   STANLEY    GRIMES. 

n 


BOSTON: 

PHILLIPS,   SAMPSON  &   COMPANY, 

1858. 


>£,„D 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1857,  by 

J.  STANLEY  GRIMES, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


ELECTROTYPED    AT    THE 
BOSTON    STEREOTYPE    FOUNDRY. 


It  St 


PREFACE. 


In  submitting  this  outline  of  a  novel  system  of  geonomy, 
and  asking  that  it  may  be  admitted  into  the  confederation  of 
recognized  sciences,  to  occupy,  at  once,  the  place  of  geology 
and  physical  geography,  I  am  conscious  that  I  render  myself 
liable  to  be  charged  with  egotism ;  and  if  it  shall  be  found, 
upon  a  proper  investigation,  that  what  I  deem  to  be  new  and 
important  discoveries  are  merely  erroneous  fancies,  I  shall 
abandon  all  defence,  and  throw  myself  upon  the  mercy  of 
the  public.  If,  on  the  contrary,  it  shall  appear  that  I  am 
not  mistaken  in  regard  to  the  essential  principles  of  the  new 
form  of  science  which  I  propose  to  introduce,  I  shall  hope 
and  expect  that  the  faults  and  errors  that  accompany  the 
truths  will  be  looked  upon  with  a  lenient  eye,  and  attributed 
in  a  great  measure  to  the  numerous  disadvantages  under 
which  the  author  has  labored. 

This  little  book  is  designed  merely  as  the  forerunner  of  a 
larger  volume,  which  will  be  presented  to  the  public  hereafter. % 
In  the  mean  time,  I  would  respectfully  solicit  from  the  friends 
of  science  the  communication  of  any  facts  or  suggestions  which 
may  be  useful  in  bringing  the  geonomic  system  nearer  to  per- 
fection. A  wilderness  of  details  is  yet  unexplored.  Even 
1*  (5) 


*-\f*e~:4'h 


6  PREFACE. 

in  preparing  this  meagre  outline,  I  have  been  painfully  sen- 
sible of  the  want  of  correct  information ;  but  I  am  tempted 
to  hide  my  own  deficiencies  behind  the  reflection  that  no 
one  individual  is  at  present  capable  of  doing  full  justice  to 
a  theme  so  vast  and  comprehensive  in  its  general  outlines, 
and  at  the  same  time  so  rich  and  varied  in  its  minor  features. 
It  is  worthy  of  the  united  labors  of  all  the  scientific  minds 
of  all  countries ;  and  to  them  I  earnestly  commend  it. 

The  Hon.  L.  Chandler  Ball  is  the  only  person  whom  I 
have  consulted  during  this  investigation  ;  and  it  is  proper  that 
I  should  publicly  acknowledge  the  obligations  which  I  am 
under  for  his  valuable  assistance  and  his  friendly  criticisms. 
While  travelling  a  short  distance  with  him  among  the  lower 
ridges  of  the  northern  part  of  the  Alleghanies,  he  pointed 
out  the  necessity  of  modifying  my  views  in  such  a  way 
as  to  account  for  the  peculiar  and  frequent,  but  gentle,  rocky 
undulations  that  abound  among  the  most  ancient  stratified  for- 
mations. I  was  thus  led  to  new  researches,  which  resulted 
in  the  important  conclusion,  that  when  the  first  mountains 
were  made,  the  earth's  crust  was  much  thinner  and  more  flex- 
ible, and  admitted  of  being  more  readily  bent  into  small  folds 
than  when  it  became  colder  and  thicker.  This  enables  us 
to  understand  the  reason  of  the  fact  that  mountains  have 
been  raised  progressively  higher,  and  oceans  depressed  lower, 
from  the  earliest  to  the  latest  geologic  ages. 

I  have  purposely  avoided  all  scientific  questions  which  are 
connected  with  theological  controversies,  and  confined  myself 
strictly  to  the  subject  before  me ;  but  it  is  proper  in  this 
place  to  remark,  that  geonomy  furnishes  additional  evidence 
that  the  operations  of  nature  are  dependent  upon  universal 


PREFACE.  7 

laws  which,  "  in  the  beginning "  of  time,  were  made  by  Him 
who  "  weighs  the  mountains  in  the  scales  and  the  hills  in 
the  balances." 

We  have  every  reason  to  conclude  that,  should  another 
world  precisely  like  this  be  now  launched  into  its  orbit,  under 
the  same  astronomical  circumstances  as  the  earth  was,  the 
creative  laws  would  reproduce  or  repeat  all  the  forms  of  this 
earth,  and  in  exactly  the  same  order,  upon  the  surface  of  the 
new  planet ;  but  it  by  no  means  follows  that  the  divine 
Being  has  not  reserved  to  himself  the  power  of  modifying,  or 
even  reversing,  his  laws,  to  adapt  them  to  special  circum- 
stances. It  ill  becomes  short-lived  and  frail  beings  like  us 
to  set  bounds  to  the  discretionary  power  of  the  supreme 
Ruler  of  the  universe.  Let  us  rather  manifest  our  gratitude 
for  the  faculties  which  he  has  bestowed  upon  us  by  using 
them  to  learn  and  to  obey  his  laws. 

J.  STANLEY  GRIMES. 

Lansingbuegh,  N.  Y.,  November,  1857. 


EXPLANATION  OF  THE  DIAGRAM  MAP. 


The  map  is  drawn  on  Mercator's  projection,  "which,  though  con- 
venient when  we  wish  to  show  the  whole  earth  at  one  view,  is  not 
strictly  correct,  because  it  represents  the  diameter  of  the  earth  from 
east  to  west  as  if  it  were  as  great  at  the  poles  as  it  is  at  the  equator; 
whereas,  in  reality,  it  grows  continually  smaller  from  the  equator  to 
the  poles,  as  it  is  represented  on  maps  with  the  globular  projection. 

Arrows  are  drawn  on  the  map,  following  each  other  along  a  dotted 
line,  so  as  to  represent  the  normal  elliptical  currents,  circulating 
independently  of  each  other,  and  covering  the  surface  of  the  whole 
earth,  except  a  few  angular  inter-elliptical  spaces,  the  principal  of 
which  are  South  America,  Africa,  Australia,  Greenland,  Kamschatka, 
Alaska,  Mexico,  and  India. 

The  arrows  on  the  land  are  designed  to  represent  the  courses  of 
the  ancient  currents  of  water  which  circulated  over  the  land  before  it 
was  elevated  from  the  bottom  of  the  sea  to  its  present  situation. 
The  principal  mountain  ranges  of  the  earth  are  parallel  to  these 
ellipses,  as  any  one  can  perceive  by  comparing  a  good  atlas  with 
the  diagram. 

The  arrows  on  the  water  represent,  though  in  a  general  manner 
only,  the  courses  which  the  present  ocean  currents  originally  and 
normally  pursued.  I  have  not  attempted,  in  this  diagram,  to  give 
all  the  subordinate  currents  as  they  now  circulate,  in  gulfs,  and  bays, 

(8) 


EXPLANATION   OP  THE  DIAGRAM   MAP.  9 

and  among  islands,  nor  in  all  places  where  the  partial  drainage  of 
the  continents  has  caused  counter  currents  to  overflow  from  inland 
seas,  and  disturb  the  normal  directions  of  the  main  currents. 

In  the  North  Atlantic,  I  have  represented  the  course  of  the  Gulf 
Stream  as  if  it  were  directly  north-east  from  Florida  to  Spitzbergen ; 
and  analogy,  as  well  as  the  general  forms  of  the  land,  indicates  that 
this  was  the  direction  in  which  it  did  run  before  the  upheaval  of  the 
more  southern  parts  of  the  North  American  continent.  That  event 
forced  the  remaining  inland  seas  to  find  an  outlet  to  the  east  through 
Davis's  Strait,  elevated  the  Grand  Banks,  and  deflected  the  Gulf 
Stream  more  to  the  east,  across  the  ocean,  to  the  European  side. 
There  the  main  current  of  the  stream  is  divided  into  several  abnor- 
mal branches. 

The  arrows  in  the  North  Atlantic  and  Baffin's  Bay  that  are  not  in 
a  range  with  the  dotted  lines  are  intended  to  represent  the  irregular 
branches,  and  also  the  course,  of  the  main  current  from  Newfoundland 
to  Europe. 

The  arrows  represent  all  currents  as  running  westerly  in  the  tropi- 
cal, and  easterly  in  the  polar,  regions,  and  north  and  south  between  ; 
and  any  ^>od  atlas  will  show  that  the  mountains  curve  in  accordance 
with  the  curves  of  the  currents. 

The  object  of  this  diagram  is  to  illustrate  the  principle  of  oceanic 
ellipses  and  their  relations  to  mountain  ranges,  and  not  to  instruct  in 
the  details ;  this  may  be  done,  hereafter,  in  a  larger  work,  with  proper 
illustrations. 

If  ellipses  are  to  be  introduced  into  geographical  science,  it  will  be 
convenient  for  reference  to  divide  each  ellipse  into  eight  segments, 
commencing  at  the  equator,  and  following  the  courses  of  the  currents 
as  indicated  by  the  arrows.  The  eight  segments  would  be  named 
and  numbered  as  follows :  1.  The  mid-line,  or  equatorial  segment ; 
2.  The  west  mid-line  segment,  being  that  eighth  which  is  between  the 
mid-line  segment  and  the  western  ^gment ;  3.  The  western  segment ; 
4.  The- west  polar  segment,  being  that  eighth  which  is  between  the 


10  EXPLANATION  OF  THE  DIAGRAM  MAP. 

western  and  the  polar  segments ;  5.  The  polar  segment ;  6.  The  east 
polar  segment ;  7.  The  eastern  segment ;  8.  The  east  mid-line  segment. 

If  the  above  arrangement  were  adopted,  it  would,  in  practice,  only 
be  necessary  to  refer  to  the  number  of  the  segment  in  order  to  be 
understood.  This  plan  would  be  found  very  useful  when  comparing  the 
facts  and  details  of  one  ellipse  with  those  of  another.  Thus,  in  com- 
paring the  Asiatic  ellipse  with  the  North  American,  we  could  say  that 
the  eighth  segment  of  one  is  occupied  by  the  Anglo-Americans,  and 
of  the  other  by  the  Chinese.  It  would  also  be  convenient  in  describ- 
ing or  in  referring  to  a  place.  Thus  we  could  say  that  the  Aral  Sea 
is  near  the  second  segment  of  Asia. 

Two  of  the  ellipses  on  the  map  —  one  in  each  hemisphere  —  are 
numbered,  to  show  the  manner  in  which  they  may  all  be  numbered 
in  accordance  with  the  above  plan. 


CONTENTS 


SECTION  I. 


Summary  of  Principles  of  Geonomy.  —  Comparison  of  the  two  Series 

of  Continents  in  the  Northern  Hemisphere 15 

SECTION  II. 

Equilibrium  of  the  Earth 38 

Primitive  Melted  Condition  of  the  Earth.  —  No  Mountains  at  first. — 

Inequality  of  the  two  Hemispheres.  —  Precession  of  Equinoxes.    .  41 

Symmetry  of  Ocean  Currents 47 

I 

SECTION  III. 

Elliptical  Paths  of  the  Currents 49 

Effects  of  the  Earth's  Rotation 52 

Equatorial  Currents  west,  and  Polar  Currents  east 54-57 

Gulf  Stream 58 

Maury's  Current. 63 

Overflowing  of  the  Indian  Ocean  and  Baffin's  Bay  producing  Abnor- 
mal Currents 65 

Rising  of  the  Land  in  the  North  Atlantic 69 

Elliptic  Area  of  Earthquakes - 71 

Relation  of  Mathematics  to  Geonomy 71 

SECTION  IV. 

Geology 73 

Lyell  on  the  Elevation  of  Mountains  during  the  Tertiary  Period.    .     .  79 

Relation  of  Elevation  to  Organic  Progress 83 

Relation  of  Mountains  to  Geological  Formations 91 

(ID 


12  CONTENTS. 

SECTION   V. 

Parallelism  of  Currents,  Strata,  and  Mountains 92 

Mitchell's  and  Humboldt's  Views.  —  Beaumont  on  Mountains.  — Ro- 
gers on  Waves 95 

Professor  Traill  on  Abrupt  Slopes 97 

Earthquake  at  Cutch,  in  India.  —  Steam  and  Explosive  Theory.     100,  101 

Fourier  on  Central  Heat 104 

Herschel  on  Causes  of  Volcanoes 105 

Thickness  of  Crust 109 

SECTION  VI. 

Lowlands  and  Plateaus 109 

Remarkable  Earthquakes * 115 

SECTION  VII. 

Relation  of  Currents  to  Geography.    . 121 

Bottom  of  Atlantic 123 

Asiatic  Basin 127 

European  Basin 129 

Caspian  and  Aral  Seas.  — Their  Surfaces  below  the  Level  of  the  Sea. 
— Analogies  of  different  Lands.  —  Cape  Cod  and  Gulf  of  Mexico.  — 

Peninsulas 137 

Volcanic  Band  in  the  Indian  Archipelago 138 

Relative  Elevation  of  the  Continents  according  to  Humboldt.  —  The 

Thermal  Equator.  —  Thermal  Tropics 149 

Magnetic  Needle  and  its  Variations  related  to  Ocean  Currents.      .    .  149 

Dip  of  the  Needle ......  151 

SECTION .  VIII. 

Constituents  of  the  Globe. 152 

Water  in  the  Moon,  Mars,  and  Venus.  —  Action  of  Metals  on  Water 

and  Atmosphere 158 

Metallic  Veins 160 

SECTION  IX. 

Comparative  Geonomy.  —  Analogy  of  the  Earth's  Oceans  and  Moun- 
tains to  those  of  the  Moon  and  Mars.  .    ." 161 

Mountains  in  the  Moon.  —  Causes  of  their  Peculiarities.  —  Their 
Directions  north  and  south 164 

CONCLUSION. 
Facts  independent  of  Theory 167 


OUTLINES  OF  GEOffOMY. 


INTRODUCTION 


Geonomy  is  a  science  which  relates  to  the  physical 
laws  of  the  earth,  and  includes  all  the  essential  facts  of 
geology  and  physical  geography. 

In  this  treatise  those  facts  are  mostly  accounted  for 
upon  the  theory  that  the  weight  of  the  atmosphere,  the 
ocean,  and  the  stratified  deposits,  pressing  unequally 
upon  the  granite  crust  of  the  earth,  causes  it  to  sink  une- 
qually, and  by  reaction  produces  upward  movements 
of  the  lava  and  of  the  land,  and  gives  birth  to  earth- 
quakes, volcanoes,  mountains,  and  continents. 

The  term  geonomy  is  derived  from  two  Greek  words, 
—  ge,  the  earth,  and  nomos,  a  law,  —  and  is  analogous  to 
the  term  astronomy,  which  is  from  astron,  a  star,  and 
jiomos. 

Geography  literally  signifies  a  description  of  the 
earth  ;  but  it  is  commonly  applied  to  the  surface  only. 
2  (13) 


14  OUTLINES  OP  GEONOMY. 

Geology  signifies  a  discourse  concerning  the  earth ;  it 
is,  however,  limited  by  usage  to  an  explanation  of  the 
structure  and  origin  of  rocks  and  fossils,  and  cannot 
conveniently  be  made  to  include  physical  geography. 

I  have  adopted  the  term  geonomy,  because  there  is 
no  other  word,  of  equivalent  meaning,  now  in  use  in 
this  country,  and  because  it  appears  to  be  perfectly 
appropriate.  It  implies  that  we  are  not  only  acquainted 
with  many  facts  concerning  the  structure  and  natural 
history  of  the  earth,  but,  also,  that  we  have  at  length 
arrived  at  a  knowledge  of  the  great  principles  and 
laws  of  nature,  which,  under  the  same  circumstances, 
must  always  produce  similar  terrestrial  phenomena  and 
forms.  Nearly  all  the  natural  sciences  may  be  regarded 
as  subordinate  to  geonomy,  and  as  each  furnishing 
contributions  to  enable  us  to  understand  the  compli- 
cated nature  of  the  planet  on  the  surface  of  which 
we  live. 

In  order  to  render  the  subject  more  clear  and  intel- 
ligible, I  have  introduced  a  brief  preliminary  section, 
containing  a  summary  view  of  the  most  essential  points, 
expressed  in  concise  terms,  and  arranged  in  a  natural 
order. 


OUTLINES  OP  GEONOMY.  15 


SECTION  I. 

SUMMARY  OF  THE  PRINCIPLES   OF  GEONOMY. 

The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  distinct  principles 
of  geonomy,  which,  when  properly  applied,  enable  us  to 
solve  most  of  the  difficult  problems  of  physical  geog- 
raphy and  geology. 

1.  The  effect  of  centrifugal  force  is  to  flatten  the 
earth  at  the  poles  and  enlarge  it  at  the  equator,  so  as 
to  make  the  equatorial  diameter  about  twenty-six  miles 
greater  than  the  polar  diameter. 

2.  The  combined  effects  of  centrifugal  force  and  of 
gravitation,  are  to  continually  maintain  the  spheroidal 
form  of  the  earth,  and  to  resist  all  forces  that  tend  to 
disturb  the  equilibrium  thus  established. 

3.  As  far  as  we  know,  the  heaviest  substances  and 
strata  are  nearest  to  the  centre  of  the  earth,  and  the 
lightest  occupy  the  circumference  ;  and  all  substances 
have  a  constant  tendency  to  move  towards  or  from  the 
centre  of  the  earth,  until  they  reach  the  places  assigned 
them  by  gravity.  The  result  is,  that  all  substances  of 
equal  specific  gravity  tend  to  occupy  equal  distances 
from  the  centre,  and  to  each  constitute  a  special  sphe- 
roidal layer  or  shell  around  tfie  earth. 

4.  If  centrifugal  force  and  gravity  had  been  left  to 
arrange  the  substances  that  compose  the  earth  without 


16  OUTLINES   OP  GEONOMY. 

the  interference  of  any  other  agent,  the  surface  of  the 
earth  would  have  presented  a  uniform  appearance,  and 
the  atmosphere  and  ocean  would  have  been  of  equal 
depth  over  the  surface  of  all  parts  of  the  earth  ;  there 
would  have  been  no  winds,  nor  waves,  nor  currents  ; 
no  mountains  nor  valleys  ;  no  vegetable  nor  animal  life ; 
nor  any  motion  whatever,  except  that  produced  daily 
by  the  tidal  influences  of  the  sun  and  moon. 

5.  All  the  phenomena  of  geology  and  physical  geog- 
raphy, all  the  innumerable  forms  of  earth,  —  mountains, 
valleys,  rivers,  oceans,  —  and  all  the  varied  manifesta- 
tions of  life,  beauty,  and  intelligence  upon  our  planet, 
are  directly  dependent  upon  the  disturbance  which  the 
unequal  distribution  of  the  sun's  rays  produces  in  the 
equilibrium  of  the  atmosphere  and  the  ocean. 

THE    ATMOSPHERE. 

6.  The  atmosphere  is  the  outer  layer  of  the  earth's 
substances,  and  being  the  most  volatile,  has  its  balance 
most  easily  disturbed  by  heat,  and  consequently  it  reacts 
with  proportionate  facility  to  recover  its  balance. 

The  heaviest  and  densest  layers  of  the  atmosphere 
occupy  the  space  nearest  to  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
and  the  lightest  layers  occupy  the  spaces  which  are  high- 
est, and  are  supposed  to  be  about  fifty  miles  above  the 
earth.  Between  the  lowest  and  highest  parts  of  the 
atmosphere  there  is  a  regular  gradation  of  density  and 
weight,  the  air  becoming  less  and  less  dense  from  the 
bottom  to  the  top. 

7.  Let  us  assume  that  the   atmosphere  is  normally 


OUTLINES   OP  GEONOMY.  17 


composed  of  fifty  distinct  layers  of  air,  each  of  which 
is  of  a  different  degree  of  density  from  the  other,  and 
is  one  mile  in  depth.  If  the  lowest  layer  becomes  ex> 
panded  by  heat,  so  that  its  density  is  only  equal  to 
that  of  the  tenth  layer,  the  lowest  layer  will  immedi- 
ately rise  and  mingle  with  the  air  of  the  tenth,  and 
allow  the  second  layer  to  subside  to  the  surface  of 
the  earth. 

If  the  expansion  of  air  by  heat  at  the  surface  of  the 
earth  was  the  same  in  all  places,  from  the  equator  to 
the  poles,  the  equalizing  movement  would  be  merely  up- 
ward and  downward  ;  otherwise  it  would  be  horizontal, 
and  constitute  what  is  commonly  called  a  wind. 

8.  The  rays  of  the  sun's  heat  penetrate  through 
the  atmosphere  without  expanding  it  much,  but  after 
striking  the  earth,  are  reflected  again  into  the  atmos- 
phere, and  cause  an  expansion  of  the  lowest  layers 
only  :  this  expansion  is  greatest  at  the  equator,  and 'is 
gradually  less  as  we  proceed  to  the  poles. 

9.  The  reason  why  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  expand 
the  upper  layers  of  the  atmosphere  less  than  they  do  the 
lower  is  -that,  from  some  unknown  cause,  the  direct 
rays  of  the  sun  havcmore  penetrating  power  and  less 
heating  power  than  the  reflected  rays  do,  and  consequent- 
ly the  rays  pass  from  the  sun  directly  through  the  atmos- 
phere to  the  earth  without  being  obstructed  by  the  air  ; 
but  when  the  rays  rebound  from  the  earth,  they  have 
not  penetrating  power  sufficient  to  expand  any  part  of 
the  atmosphere  except  the  lower  layers. 

10.  The  celestial  space  through  which  the  earth  is 
moving  is  many  degrees  colder  than  the  earth  is  even  at 

2* 


18  OUTLINES   OP  GEONOMT. 

the  poles  ;  consequently,  however  hot  or  expanded  the 
lower  layers  of  the  atmosphere  may  become  at  the 
equator,  they  can  perfectly  recover  their  density  without 
leaving  the  tropics,  by  merely  rising  to  the  upper  regions. 

11.  On  each  side  of  the  equator  there  is  a  column 
of  hot  and  expanded  air  continually  rising  and  swelling 
the  atmosphere,  so  as  to  make  it  about  four  miles  higher 
at  the  equator  than  at  any  other  part  of  the  earth. 
When  the  expanded  air  reaches  a  sufficient  elevation,  it 
becomes  chilled  and  condensed,  so  that  it  is  heavier 
than  when  it  left  the  surface  ;  of  course  it  immediately 
begins  to  fall.  Being  crowded  by  the  rising  and  over- 
flowing column  of  air  near  the  equator,  it  slides  down 
an  inclined  plane,  poleward,  and  reaches  the  surface 
of  the  earth  at  about  the  thirtieth  degree  of  latitude 
from  the  equator.  Perhaps  it  would  be  more  correct 
if  we  should  say  that  near  the  thirtieth  degree  the 
condensing  column  from  the  upper  regions  of  the  equa- 
tor is  resisted  by  the  dry  cold  air  beyond  the  tropics, 
and  prevented  from  moving  farther  poleward  in  the 
upper  regions  ;  therefore  it  continues  gradually  to  sink, 
and  by  its  weight  presses  upon  the  lower  strata,  so  as  to 
cause  a  movement  towards  and  from  the  poles  at  the 
surface  of  the  earth  ;  just  as  the  pressing  of  a  heavy 
body  into  the  middle  of  a  trough  of  water  causes  a 
movement  of  the  water  towards  both  ends  of  the  trough. 

In  accordance  with  this  theory  is  the  fact,  that  the 
wind  is  constantly  blowing  towards  the  equator  from 
near  the  thirtieth  degree  of  north  and  south  latitude, 
and  on  the  contrary  it  is  almost  continually  blowing 
towards  the  poles  beyond  the  thirtieth  degree. 


OUTLINES   OF  GEONOMY.  19 

It  is  also  in  accordance  with  the  fact,  that  the  barom- 
eter indicates  that  the  weight  of  the  atmosphere  is 
greater  near  the  thirtieth  degree  than  in  any  other  part 
of  the  earth. 

THE   OCEAN. 

12.  There  would  be  no  movements  of  the  ocean  in  a 
north  and  south  direction,  were  it  not  for  the  unequal 
distribution  of  the  sun's  rays  on  the  surface  of  the 
earth.  The  tides  cause  a  daily  movement  of  the  wa- 
ters east  and  west ;  but  with  this  exception  all  the  cur- 
rents of  the  ocean  are  caused,  like  the  currents  of  the 
atmosphere,  by  the  disturbance  of  the  equilibrium  pro- 
duced by  the  sun's  heat. 

The  heat  of  the  sun,  all  else  equal,  being  greatest  at  the 
equator,  and  becoming  gradually  less  to  the  poles,  the 
waters  of  the  ocean  are,  of  course,  more  expanded  at 
the  surface  the  nearer  they  are  to  the  equator  ;  and  on 
the  contrary,  they  are  more  chilled  and  condensed  at 
the  surface  the  nearer  they  are  to  the  poles.  The  con- 
sequence of  this  state  of  things  is,  that  there  is  a  con- 
tinual movement  going  on,  between  the  tropical  and 
polar  waters,  to  restore  the  equilibrium,  which  is  thus 
continually  being  disturbed. 

13.  Supposing  the  depth  of  the  water  to  be  equal  over 
the  surface  of  the  whole  earth,  and  the  bed  of  the  ocean 
to  be  smooth,  so  that  there  should  be  no  inequalities 
nor  shores  to  interfere  with  the  natural  direction  of  the 
waters,  what  course  would  the  currents  pursue  ?  Would 
the  condensed  polar  waters  move  in  a  mass  towards  the 
equator,  and  the  expanded  tropical  waters  move  in  a 


20  OUTLINES   OF   GEONOMY. 

mass  to  meet  them  near  the  thirtieth  degree  of  latitude, 
as  the  winds  meet  ?  Is  there  any  law  which  would  sep- 
arate the  poleward  currents  from  those  which  are  mov- 
ing towards  the  equator,  and  force  each  to  turn  aside, 
avoid  an  encounter,  and  choose  a  separate  path  for 
itself?  It  is  a  law  of  nature  that  opposing  forces, 
under  such  circumstances,  shall  tend  to  compromise,  and 
form  a  circuit  which  is  generally  of  an  elliptical  or  oval 
form.  The  planetary  bodies,  which  were  in  motion 
long  before  the  ocean  waters  were,  had  already  set  the 
example  of  obedience  to  the  law  of  elliptical  motion. 

14.  Assuming,  then,  that  the  current  from  the  pole  to 
the  equator  constituted  half  of  a  circuit,  and  the  cur- 
rent from  the  equator  to  the  pole  the  other  half  of  it, 
what  natural  laws  are  there  that  would  impose  upon 
this  circuit  a  definite  length,  breadth,  and  form,  and 
restrict  the  number  of  distinct  circuits?  The  poles 
of  the  earth  are  but  two  central  points.  Several  cur- 
rents, therefore,  which  go  to  and  from  one  of  the  poles 
without  crossing  each  other  must  necessarily  form  acute 
angles  at  the  pole  ;  and  furthermore,  the  currents  which 
go  from  the  pole  must  be  continuations  of  those  which 
go  to  it. 

15. .  The  currents  that  primitively  moved  towards  the 
equator,  instead  of  converging  to  a  point,  as  at  the  pole, 
must  have  diverged  and  become  widely  separated  from 
each  other.  The  earth  being  twenty-four  thousand 
miles  in  circumference,  if  there  were  but  three  equidis- 
tant currents  that  run  to  the  equator,  they  must  have 
been  eight  thousand  miles  apart  when  they  readied 
there  ;  and  as  the  distance  to  the  pole  is  but  six  thousand 


OUTLINES   OF  GEONOMY.  21 

miles,  the  three  primitive  ellipses  of  each  hemisphere 
had  their  longer  diameters  from  east  to  west. 

16.  Let  us  suppose  that  the  first  ocean  currents  were 
thus  arranged,  and  that  each  hemisphere  was  divided 
into  three  elliptical  circuits  ;  what  natural  laws  would 
govern  and  limit  these  circuits  ?  Before  answering  this, 
let  us  define  an  ellipse. 

An  ellipse,  or  ellipsis,  differs  from  a  circle  in  being 
longer  than  it  is  wide.  The  most  distant  extremities 
of  an  ellipse  are  called  apsides.  The  terrestrial  ellipses 
at  the  present  time  each  have  one  apsis  near  the  equa- 
tor, and  the  other  near  the  arctic  or  the  antarctic  circle. 
The  waters  of  each  distinct  oceanic  basin  run  in  an 
ellipse  from  the  equator  along  the  western  part  of  the 
ocean  towards  the  pole,  and  from  the  polar  region  along 
the  eastern  part  of  the  ocean  to  the  equator.  When 
the  primitive  currents  of  water  moved  from  the  pole 
towards  the  equator,  the  rotatory  motion  of  the  earth 
must  have  given  them  a  westward  tendency,  so  that 
they  reached  the  equator  at  least  two  thousand  miles 
farther  to  the  west  than  if  they  had  moved  in  a  direct 
line. 

When  the  water  of  the  current  arrived  at  the  equa- 
tor, if  it  was  not  yet  sufficiently  expanded  by  heat  to 
overflow  towards  the  pole,  it  moved  westward  along  in 
the  tropics,  until  it  became  sufficiently  expanded.  Let 
us  suppose  that  it  moved  along  the  equator  two  thousand 
miles  before  it  turned  towards  the  pole  ;  it  would  after- 
wards naturally  move  at  least  two  thousand  miles  far- 
ther before  it  would  cease  to  tend  towards  the  west  in 
any  degree,  and  by  this  time  it  would  be  nearly  one 


22  OUTLINES   OP  GEONOMY. 

third  of  its  way  from  the  equator  to  the  pole.  During 
the  remaining  two  thirds  of  its  journey,  the  rotation  of 
the  earth  would  curve  it  in  an  easterly  direction. 

17.  The  causes  that  move  the  water  in  a  northern 
and  southern  direction  are  obvious  enough,  and  so  are 
those  that  bring  the  currents  together  at  the  poles  ;  but 
the  causes  that  operate  at  the  equator  to  send  the  current 
eight  thousand  miles  in  a  western  direction  require  to 
be  further  considered.  First:  the  rotatory  motion  of  the 
earth  gives  all  currents  which  are  moving  towards  the 
equator  a  western  tendency,  which  is  greater  the  nearer 
they  approach  to  the  equator.  Second:  a  current  which 
embraces  one  third  of  the  waters  of  the  earth  must  be 
very  broad,  and  must  require  considerable  room  to  turn 
in,  and  but  a  short  segment  of  it  would  actually  touch 
the  equator  before  it  would  turn  again  towards  the  pole, 
gradually  curving,  until  it  moved  in  an  easterly  direc- 
tion. Third  :  It  must  be  evident  that  the  larger  the 
body  of  water  which  required  warming,  the  longer 
must  be  the  space  which  it  would  occupy  parallel  with 
the  equator  ;  and  it  must  be  equally  evident  that  when 
the  water  near  the  equator  is  warmed  to  a  certaiu  de- 
gree, it  must  turn  towards  the  pole  ;  and  this  fact  limits 
the  size  of  ellipses,  and  prevents  the  equatorial  waters 
from  moving  in  a  continuous  stream  around  the  earth. 
Fourth :  the  current  from  the  pole  must  strike  the 
equator  at  a  certain  point,  and  after  moving  a  certain 
distance,  leave  the  equator  at  another  more  western 
point,  in  order  to  return  to  the  pole  ;  the  distance  be- 
tween these  two  points  will  depend  principally  upon 
the  distance  to  the  pole,  the  depth  of  the  water,  and  the 


OUTLINES   OF   GEOXOMY.  23 

difference  of  temperature  between  the  tropic  and  the 
pole  ;  but  one  thing  is  demonstrable,  and  that  is,  that 
an  ellipse  of  waters  can  move  no  farther  westerly  along 
the  equator  than  is  necessary  to  acquire  a  certain  degree 
of  warmth. 

18.  If  the  southern  hemisphere  was  originally  divid- 
ed into  only  three  ellipses,  as  appearances  now  indicate 
that  it  was,  the  reasons  given  above  are  sufficient  to  ac- 
count for  the  fact ;  and  if  the  northern  hemisphere  con- 
tains evidences  of  having  been  divided  into  six  ellipses, 
it  will  naturally  be  accounted  for  by  supposing  that  its 
three  original  ellipses  were  each  divided,  as  the  continents 
gradually  rose  and  limited  the  area  in  which  the  waters 
moved. 

MOUNTAINS   AND    CONTINENTS. 

19.  It  appears  that  the  principal  ranges  of  mountains 
were  originally  the  boundaries  and  divisions  between 
the  great  oceanic  ellipses.  In  the  southern  hemisphere, 
from  the  north  and  south  mountain  ranges  of  Africa  to 
the  mountains  which  run  north  and  south  in  South 
America,  there  was  originally  one  ellipse,  which  was 
bounded  east  and  west  by  those  mountains  ;  and  even 
now  this  may  be  geonomically  considered  as  one  basin. 
From  the  north  and  south  mountain  ranges  of  South 
America  to  the  north  and  south  mountains  of  east- 
ern Australia  there  was  another  very  similar  ellipse. 
From  the  north  and  south  ranges  on  the  western 
coast  of  Australia  to  the  north  and  south  ranges  of 
Africa  was  a  third  ellipse.  These  three  great  ellipses, 
or  basins,  now  constitute  the  three  great  oceans  of  the 


24  OUTLINES    OF   GEONOMY. 

t 

southern  hemisphere,  namely,  the  South  Atlantic,  the 
South  Pacific,  and  the  Indian  Ocean  ;  and  they  are  sep- 
arated from  each  other  by  three  analogous  elevations  of 
land,  namely,  Africa,  South  America,  and  Australia. 
These  three  elevations  originally  divided  the  southern 
hemisphere  into  three  nearly  equal  parts. 

In  the  space  between  the  southern  shore  of  Australia 
and  the  antarctic  continent,  the  forms  of  the  land  indi- 
cate that  there  is  a  small  independent  ellipse  ;  but  we 
know  nothing  concerning  the  directions  of  the  currents 
there,  and  this  region  must  therefore  be  put  down  as 
doubtful.  There  are  also  some  evidences  of  a  distinct 
ellipse  between  New  Zealand  and  Australia  ;  but  as 
both  of  these  last  mentioned  are  doubtful  in  the  pres- 
ent state  of  our  knowledge,  and  as,  if  they  do  exist,  they 
are  the  consequences  of  a  derangement  of  the  primitive 
ellipses,  produced  by  the  elevation  of  so  much  land  above 
the  sea,  I  will  leave  them  out  of  the  account  in  this 
place,  and  speak  of  the  southern  hemisphere  as  possess- 
ing only  three  great  oceanic  basins. 

In  the  northern  hemisphere  the  equivalent  of  the 
Indian  Ocean  is  the  continent  of  Asia  ;  the  equivalent 
of  the  South  Atlantic  basin,  including  a  large  part  of 
Africa,  and  of  South  America,  is  found  in  Europe,  the 
North  Atlantic,  and  North  America  ;  the  North  and 
South  Pacific  Oceans  balance  each  other.  The  north- 
ern hemisphere  is  in  six  ellipses,  as  follows  :  — 

First.  Asia  extends  from  the  Aldan  Mountains  to 
the  Oural  Mountains,  and  originally  constituted  a  dis- 
tinct submarine  ellipse. 

Seco?id.     Europe   extends    from    the   Ourals   to    the 


OUTLINES   OF   GEONOMY.  25 

Scandinavians,  and  though  small,  has  the  undoubted 
marks  of  a  separate  ellipse. 

Third,  The  North  Atlantic  constitutes  a  model  and 
well-known  ellipse  called  "  the  Gulf  Stream." 

Fourth,  North  America  was  once  overflowed  by  an 
ellipse  of  the  ocean  extending  from  the  Appalachians  to 
the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Fifth.  There  is  an  imperfect  ellipse  now  in  the  pro- 
cess of  draining,  and  rising  in  the  north-west  part  of 
North  America,  between  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  pen- 
insula of  Alaska,  and  the  Sandwich  Islands. 

Sixth.  An  oceanic  ellipse  evidently  exists  between 
Alaska  and  China,  which  I  will  denominate  the  north- 
west Pacific  ellipse. 

20.  A  demonstrable  parallelism  exists  between  the 
normal  currents  of  the  ocean  and  the  principal  ranges 
of  mountains,  which  renders  it  evident  that  there  is  a 
necessary  connection  between  the  two  classes  of  phe- 
nomena that  may  rationally  be  accounted  for  as 
follows  :  — 

21.  When  the  earth  was  first  formed,  its  surface  was 
too  hot  to  allow  the  waters  to  remain  upon  it ;  but  the 
ocean  then  existed  in  the  form  of  vapor  circulating  in 
the  atmosphere  around  the  solid  earth.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances, there  was  nothing  to  prevent  the  earth  from 
assuming  a  spheroidal  form,  without  any  irregularities 
upon  its  surface  ;  it  had  neither  mountains  nor  valleys, 
and  it  would  have  remained  in  this  regular  and  smooth 
condition,  had  not  the  gradual  radiation  of  heat  into 
the  celestial  spaces  caused  the  formation  around  the 
earth  of  a  shell  or  crust  of  cooled  lava,  upon  the  surface 

3 


26  OUTLINES   OF   GEOXOMY. 

of  which  the  condensed  -vapors  fell,  to  constitute  the 
ocean. 

22.  As  soon  as  the  ocean  had  covered  the  earth,  and 
the  difference  of  temperature  between  the  equator  and 
the  poles  began  to  operate,  there  would  immediately 
commence  a  movement  of  currents  from  the  poles  to  the 
equator,  and  back  again,  to  restore  the  equilibrium. 

23.  The  paths  pursued  by  the  ocean  currents  soon 
became  heaped  with  a  heavy  mass  of  detritus,  —  gravel 
and  sediment,  —  which  was  precipitated  and  deposited 
there. 

.24.  When  water  runs  the  most  rapidly,  it  becomes  the 
most  heavily  charged  with  sediment ;  and  when  it  runs 
.the  most  slowly,  it  drops  the  particles  of  sediment  the 
most  copiously. 

25.  There  are  some  substances  that  are  held  in  solu- 
tion by  cold  water,  but  which  are  immediately  precipi- 
tated and  deposited  at  the  bottom  when  the  water 
becomes  warmed.  This  is  the  case  with  lime,  especially 
when  the  water  contains  considerable  carbonic  acid. 

26.  When,  by  the  regular  operation  of  the  currents, 
a  series  of  strata  was  formed  along  the  course  and 
direction  of  the  current,  especially  in  the  young  and 
tender  condition  of  the  earth's  primitive  crust,  its  weight 
caused  a  subsidence  of  the  crust  proportionate  to  the 
quantity  of  the  sediment  accumulated  in  one  place. 

27.  It  would  be  impossible  for  such  a  subsidence  of  a 
long  ridge  of  strata  to  take  place  without  producing  a 
corresponding  elevation  parallel  to  the  line  of  subsi- 
dence, and  also  parallel  to  the  course  of  the  current. 

28.  When  two  parallel   currents  run    in    opposite 


OUTLINES    OF    GEONOMY.  27 

directions  so  near  to  each  other  as  to  somewhat  inter- 
fere and  moderate  each  other's  movements,  the  effect  is 
to  cause  an  uncommon  precipitation  of  sediment  at  the 
points  of  mutual  contact,  and  consequently  at  such 
points  a  subsidence  and  elevation  would  be  most  likely 
to  take  place,  the  effect  of  which  would  be  to  place  a 
ridge,  or  line  of  elevation,  between  the  two  currents  that 
would  prevent  their  farther  interference  with  each 
other.  Each  current  aftei^B&rds,  instead  of  impinging 
against  another  current,  would  impinge  against  its  own 
shore  or  side  of  the  elevated  ridge,  and  impress  it  with 
its  own  character,  curve,  and  direction. 

29.  If  the  elevation  extends  north  and  south,  and  is 
very  long,  it  has  its  eastern  side  concave  at  the  end 
which  is  towards  the  pole,  and  convex  at  the  eastern 
side  of  the  other  end.  Its  western  side  will  be  the 
reverse  of  this  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  end  which  is  towards 
the  pole  will  be  convex,  while  that  which  is  towards  the 
equator  will  be  concave.  The  mountains  and  shores  of 
the  western  part  of  North  America  are  a  good  illus- 
tration. 

30.  All  normal  oceanic  currents  invariably  run  from 
the  pole  on  the  western  sides  of  elevations,  and  all 
normal  currents  that  run  towards  the  pole,  take  the 
eastern  sides ;  and  this  fact,  together  with  the  fact  that 
the  rotatory  motion  of  the  earth  causes  poleward  cur- 
rents to  curve  to  the  east  when  nearing  the  poles,  and 
those  moving  towards  the  equator  to  curve  to  the  west, 
is  a  sufficient  explanation  of  the  difference  in  the  curves 
of  mountains  at  their  northern  and  southern  extrem- 
ities. 


28  OUTLINES  OF  GEONOMY. 

EARTHQUAKES. 

31.  When  two  currents  are  running,  one  on  each  side 
of  a  ridge,  a  subsidence  will  be  most  likely  to  take 
place  on  the  side  which  borders  the  larger  body  of 
water  ;  because  that  side  will  be  likely  to  gather  and 
deposit  the  largest  and  heaviest  body  of  detritus. 

32.  When  a  subsidence  takes  place  on  one  side  of  a 
ridge,  it  produces  an  elevation  on  the  opposite  side,  by 
crowding  the  subjacent  lava  upward,  under  the  crust  of 
the  opposite  side,  and  sometimes  causing  it  to  gush  out 
and  overflow  towards  the  side  which  has  subsided.  This 
explains  the  phenomena  which  are  known  in  geology 
under  the  name  of  faults.  It  also  explains  the  fact  that 
mountains  generally  have  their  crests  inclined  towards 
their  most  abrupt  slopes,  and  are,  in  some  instances, 
even  folded  over. 

33.  The  side  of  the  ridge  which  has  proved  its  supe- 
riority of  weight  by  subsiding  once,  seldom  loses  the 
advantage  thus  gained  over  its  opponent.  The  waters 
on  both  sides  of  the  ridge  retreat  from  the  ridge  to  an 
extent  proportionate  to  the  degree  of  the  elevation,  but 
the  waters  on  the  side  which  sinks  deepest  retire  the 
shortest  distance;  and  under  the  operation  of  the  same 
causes,  another  stratified  formation  of  detritus  and  sed- 
iment is  deposited,  parallel,  or  nearly  so,  with  the  first, 
which  is  of  the  same  weight  ;  but  this  fails  to  produce 
a  subsidence,  for  the  reason  that  in  the  mean  time  the 
crust  of  the  earth  has  grown  cooler,  thicker,  and  strong- 
er. The  subsidence  is  therefore  postponed  until  suffi- 
cient reenforcements  of  sediment  arrive.     At  length  the 


OUTLINES    OF    GEONOMY.  29 

shell  gives  way,  and  goes  down  with  a  force  propor- 
tioned to  its  weight,  and  raises  a  corresponding  eleva- 
tion, as  much  higher  than  the  first  elevation  as  the  force 
which  produced  it  was  greater.  A  third,  a  fourth,  and 
a  fifth  formation  are  afterwards  deposited,  each  of  which 
is  heavier  than  its  predecessor,  and  consequently  pro- 
duces a  deeper  subsidence  and  a  greater  elevation.  The 
highest  mountains  on  the  earth  should  by  this  law  be 
the  product  of  the  latest  general  catastrophe,  and  raised 
parallel  to  several  ranges  of  minor  mountains  in  the 
interior,  whose  elevation  should  be  found  to  be  contin- 
ually less,  and  the  dislocations  of  the  crust  less  violent, 
as  we  approach  the  locality  of  the  original  subsidence. 

34.  The  rule  that  the  larger  ocean  produces  the 
greater  subsidence  holds  true  not  only  in  reference  to 
different  mountains  when  compared  with  each  other, 
but  also  when  applied  to  different  sections  of  the  same 
mountain  range.  Those  parts  of  a  mountain  range 
will  be  found  to  be  the  highest  which  are  contiguous  to 
the  largest  mass  of  waters. 

Those  mountains  that  terminate  in  deep  water  are 
generally  promontories,  and  owe  their  elevations  to  the 
subsidences  which  have  taken  place  around  them.  For 
the  same  reason  the  mountains  near  the  poles  are  not  as 
high  as  those  nearer  the  tropics,  because  the  ocean  there 
is  necessarily  contracted  for  want  of  space.  In  accord- 
ance with  these  principles  it  will  be  found  that  the 
ocean  is  generally  deepest,  and  its  diameter  greatest,  op- 
posite the  highest  mountains. 

35.  The  heavy  metals  are  probably  situated  immedi- 
ately beneath   the  lava   or   melted  granite  which  is 

3* 


30  OUTLINES    OF    GEONOMY. 

beneath  the  earth's  crust ;  and  they  are  more  likely  to 
be  found,  not  in  the  highest  mountains,  but  where  the 
greatest  subsidences  and  elevations  have  been  made 
at  one  movement;  for  the  reason  that  such  a  movement 
would  stir  the  melted  masses  which  are  beneath  the 
crust  to  a  greater  depth,  and,  by  reaction,  send  the 
heavier  metals  up  to  greater  heights  and  in  larger 
quantities. 

36.  The  first  formation  of  rock  upon  the  earth  was 
produced  by  the  cooling  and  hardening  of  the  lava. 
The  lava  consists  of  the  lightest  known  metals  and 
metalloids  combined  with  oxygen;  and  it  is  to  be  pre- 
sumed that  the  reason  why  the  crust  is  composed  of 
these  light  metals  is,  because  they  were  floating  upon 
the  melted  metallic  surface  of  the  primitive  earth,  and 
were  thus  brought  into  contact  with  the  atmosphere,  so 
as  to  become  oxidized  and  cooled  to  form  the  crust. 

37.  The  next  formation  was  gneiss,  and  is  composed 
of  the  worn  and  broken  fragments  of  granite.  During 
the  accumulation  of  this  and  the  following  formation, 
the  surface  of  the  earth  was  probably  in  continual  agi- 
tation, in  consequence  of  the  strife  which  was  taking 
place  between  the  hot  lava  below  the  thin  crust  and  the 
moisture  which  was  condensing  from  the  atmosphere 
above  it.  This  is  evident  not  only  from  the  nature  of 
things,  but  also  from  the  contorted  appearance  of  the 
strata  in  the  rocks  themselves. 

38.  The  next  rocky  formation  is  called  mica  schist, 
and  is  a  species  of  slate,  in  which  mica  abounds,  and  was 
apparently  formed  by  sediment  falling  from  the  water 
among  the  lighter  portions  of  the  gneiss.     Above  this 


OUTLINES    OF    GEONOMY.  31 

are  clay  slates,  and  sandstones  of  a  more  fine  and  regu- 
lar formation,  indicating  that  a  more  quiet  ocean  pre- 
vailed. 

39.  The  next  important  circumstance  in  a  geonomic 
point  of  view,  in  the  progress  of  the  formations,  is  the 
abundance  of  red  sandstone,  which  indicates  that  sub- 
sidences had  taken  place  deep  enough  to  send  up  a 
large  quantity  of  iron  by  their  reactions,  and  that 
oxides  of  the  iron  had  tinged  the  sandstones  with  a 
brownish  red  color. 

40.  Above  the  old  red  sandstones  is  deposited  an 
immense  quantity  of  limestone,  which  was  probably 
formed  in  hot  and  shallow  seas,  by  the  precipitation  of 
lime  from  solution  in  cold  water.  Cold  water,  which 
contains  considerable  carbonic  acid,  is  capable  of  hold- 
ing a  large  quantity  of  lime  in  solution,  the  carbonic 
acid  being  absorbed  from  the  atmosphere,  and  the  lime 
being  dissolved  from  the  rocks  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 
When  this  solution  was  borne  by  the  currents  from  the 
deep  cold  waters  to  the  shallower  and  warmer  seas,  the 
increase  of  heat  caused  a  precipitation  of  the  lime  to 
the  bottom,  which,  accumulating  gradually  for  indefinite 
ages,  produced  the  limestones  of  the  carboniferous 
formation. 

41.  Immediately  above  these  carboniferous  lime- 
stones are  the  beds  of  coal  which  now  supply  fuel  to 
man.  These  were  formed  in  the  lowlands  of  an  archi- 
pelago, where,  in  consequence  of  the  flexible  condition 
of  the  earth's  rising  crust,  there  were  alternate,  and  some- 
times, perhaps,  annual  subsidences  and  elevations',  which 
brought  the  same  area  to  the  surface,  and  allowed  a 


32  OUTLINES   OF  GEONOMY. 

growth  of  vegetation  upon  it,  and  then  sunk  it  so  far 
as  to  allow  a  formation  of  limestone  and  detritus  to  be 
made  above  the  coal.  Being  again  raised  to  the  sur- 
face, a  new  layer  of  coal  was  added.  This  carboniferous 
formation  was  brought  to  an  end  by  a  series  of  general 
and  enormous  subsidences  and  elevations,  which  raised 
still  more  iron  from  below  the  crust,  and  produced  the 
new  red  sandstone  formation. 

42.  The  next  fact  to  be  noticed  is,  that  above  the 
coal  and  lime,  in  the  new  red  sandstone,  is  the  salifer- 
ous  formation  ;  that  is  to  say,  there  is  evidence  of  the 
commencement  of  plains  of  land  containing  salt  lakes 
or  lagoons  within  their  bosoms,  from  which  the  fresh 
water  gradually  evaporated,  as  the  land  rose,  leaving 
rock  salt,  gypsum,  and  magnesian  stone,  deposited  and 
accumulated  in  the  beds  where  they  are  now  found. 

43.  Above  the  saliferous  formation  are  the  lias,  the 
oolitic,  the  cretaceous,  the  tertiary,  the  drift,  and  the 
present  alluvial  formations,  all  of  which  unite  in  fur- 
nishing satisfactory  proofs  that,  1st,  the  present  dry 
lands  were  sometimes  elevated  gradually'  and  quietly 
without  sudden  convulsions,  in  a  way  which  it  would 
appear  can  be  most  easily  explained  by  supposing  that 
the  elevation  was  caused  by  the  gradual  subsidence  of 
the  beds  of  the  surrounding  oceans  crowding  the  sub- 
jacent lava  up  under  the  rising  continents,  and  pro- 
ducing earthquakes  and  volcanoes  occasionally,  in  con- 
sequence of  local  interruptions  of  the  general  gradual 
progress  downward  in  one  direction,  and  upward  in 
another. 

2d.   That  the  most  remarkable  convulsions  and  ele- 


OUTLINES   OP   GEONOMY.  33 

vations  followed,  in  many  instances,  after  a  very  long 
period  of  quiet  and  gradual  accumulations  of  stratified 
deposits  of  sediment  and  detritus. 

3d.  That  the  dislocations  of  the  crust  almost  inva- 
riably took  place  in  a  line  parallel  with  the  line  in 
which  the  strata  were  deposited,  and  also  in  a  line 
parallel  with  the  course  which  the  ocean's  currents 
must  naturally  have  pursued. 

4th.  The  formations  which  were  the  last  that  were 
deposited  in  the  sea  before  the  present  time,  namely,  the 
tertiary,  are  found  tilted  up  from  their  original  places 
around  the  highest  mountains,  while  around  the  lower 
class  of  elevations  they  are  seldom  disturbed  ;  thus 
demonstrating  that  the  latest  elevations  are  the  high- 
est, and  were  caused  by  the  latest  subsidences  of  the 
ocean's  bed. 

44.  In  some  cases,  it  is  very  likely  that  local  subsi- 
dences and  elevations  took  place  in  consequence  of  the 
general  disturbance  of  the  crust  over  a  large  area.  A 
local  accumulation  which  would  be  insufficient  to  break 
the  crust  by  its  weight  when  the  earth  was  quiet,  would 
subside  if  the  earth  were  shaken  in  that  region.  Not 
only  so,  if  a  large  region  were  forced  upward  by  the 
pressure  of  a  vast  and  extensive  mass  of  lava,  the 
localities  where  the  crust  was  thinnest  and  least  loaded 
with  strata,  would  be  likely  to  rise  highest,  and  leave 
the  places  lower,  where  the  strata  were  thickest  and 
heaviest.  The  appearances  in  some  mountainous  regions 
seem  to  suggest  this  explanation. 

It  is  a  demonstrable  fact  in  geology,  that  the  convul- 
sions, as  they  are  called,   have  been  continually  less 


34  '  OUTLINES   OF  GEONOMY. 

frequent  and  more  violent,  from  the  time  of  the  depo- 
sition of  the  first  and  lowest  strata  ;  the  hills  have  also 
become  continually  higher  and  the  oceans  deeper. 

45.  When  the  most  modern  stratified  rocks  are  found 
but  slightly  disturbed,  and  yet  much  elevated,  it  is  gen- 
erally near  the  sea  shore,  and  their  elevation  in  such 
cases  is  owing  not  to  the  dislocation  of  the  crust  so 
much  as  to  the  gradual  and  general  subsidence  of  the 
neighboring  seas,  and  the  equally  gradual  elevation  of 
the  whole  mass  of  land  which  borders  upon  the  ocean. 

It  has  for  a  long  time  been  known  that  there  is  a 
distinction  between  earthquakes,  volcanic  eruptions, 
the  sudden  elevation  of  mountain  ridges,  and  the  grad- 
ual elevation  of  continents  and  peninsulas  ;  but  the 
causes  of  neither  have  been  understood.  Earthquakes 
are  caused  by  subsidences  which  produce  movements  of 
lava  beneath  the  crust  of  the  earth.  Volcanoes  are  the 
eruptions  of  lava  through  orifices  in  the  crust.  Conti- 
nental elevations  are  caused  by  the  gradual  subsidence 
of  the  ocean,  producing  unobserved  reactions  upon  the 
masses  of  higher  land. 


PHYSICAL    GEOGRAPHY. 

46.  The  mountains  of  the  same  hemisphere,  that  are 
parallel  to  each  other,  possess  the  same  relations  to  the 
ocean  currents  ;  and  wherever  similar  forms  of  moun- 
tains, islands,  peninsulas,  plateaus,  or  lakes  are  repeated, 
it  will  be~  found  that  they  are  always  the  results  of 
analogous  movements  of  different  currents. 

It  will  also  be  found  that  when  the  forms  of  different 


OUTLINES   OF  GEONOMY. 


35 


lands  approximate  to  each  other,  but  are  yet,  in  many- 
respects,  unlike,  the  forming  currents  equally  approxi- 
mated and  equally  varied  in  their  conditions  and  direc- 
tions when  the  lands  were  created. 

47.  When  the  forms  of  different  lands  greatly  resem- 
ble each  other,  but  one  land  is  much  more  diminutive 
than  the  other,  it  will  be  found  that  the  smaller  land 
was  produced  by  currents  analogous  in  direction,  but 
proportionally  as  much  inferior  in  size  as  the  land  is. 
As  illustrations,  we  may  study  the  analogies  of  the  cur- 
rents and  terrestrial  forms  of  the  three  continents  of 
the  southern  hemisphere  —  South  America,  Africa,  and 
Australia.  We  here  find  similar  ocean  currents  asso- 
ciated with  strikingly  similar  forms  of  land. 

48.  In  the  northern  hemisphere  we  have  a  series  of 
three  ellipses,  Asia,  Europe,  and  the  North  Atlantic, 
repeated  in  every  thing  essential  by  the  next  series, 
namely,  North  America,  North-west  America,  and  the 
North-west  Pacific. 

Let  us  make  two  columns,  and  put  opposite  each 
other  the  names  of  those  places  that  are  analogous, 
and,  as  it  were,  repetitions  of  each  other  in  the  two 
series  of  continents.    . 


Kamschatka,   . 

Okotsk  Sea, 

Japan,  .... 

China,  .  .  • 

Siam,     .... 

Bengal  Bay, 

Sumatra  and  Java, 

Borneo  and  Celebes, 

Peling  and  N  aiding  Mountains, 

India, 


Greenland. 

Baffin's  Bay. 

Newfoundland. 

United  States. 

Florida. 

Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Central  America. 

Cuba  and  Jamaica. 

Appalachians. 

Mexico. 


36  OUTLINES   OF   GEONOMY. 


Plateau  of  Thibet,        .  .  .    Plateau  of  California. 


The  Oural  Mountains, 

The  Peninsula  of  Arabia, 

The  Persian  Gulf,    . 

Europe, 

Scandinavia, 

Iceland  Channel, 

North-west  part  of  the  Atlantic, 


The  Rocky  Mountains. 
The  Peninsula  of  California. 
The  Gulf  of  California. 
North-west  America. 
Alaska. 

Behring's  Strait. 
North-west  Pacific. 


If  we  compare  Europe  with  North  America,  we  find 
that  Italy  corresponds  with  Panama.  The  semicircle 
of  the  Alps  corresponds  with  the  semicircular  form  of 
the  shores  around  the  Mexican  Gulf.  We  must  not 
allow  ourselves  to  be  deceived  by  the  greater  elevation 
of  the  Alps,  for  in  geonomy  the  degree  of  elevation  is 
of  minor  importance,  when  the  analogy  of  forms  and 
their  relation  to  currents  are  in  question.  In  all  the  pre- 
ceding instances,  which  have  been  given  of  analogous 
forms  of  land,  it  will  be  found  that,  as  far  as  we  know 
or  can  judge,  the  direction  of  the  currents  was  also 
analogous. 

49.  There  is  not  a  land  upon  the  earth,  neither  island, 
peninsula,  nor  continent,  the  known  form  of  which  is 
such  as  to  contradict  the  geonomic  theory  here  proposed. 

In  those  instances  where  counter  currents  prevail 
from  temporary  and  local  causes,  the  directions  of  the 
land  are  found  reversed.  This  is  believed  to  be  the 
case  with  the  Massachusetts  capes,  that  were  formed 
under  the  influence  of  the  cold  current  from  Baffin's 
Bay,  which  is  probably  a  relic  of  the  ancient  North 
American  ellipse. 

50.  There  are  a  great  many  ridges  of  small  hills  in 
the  interior  of  almost  every  country,  the  formation  of 


OUTLINES   OF   GEONOMY.  37 

which  can  only  be  understood  by  considering  the  condi- 
tion of  the  earth  at  the  time  when  they  were  made ; 
most  of  them  are  composed  of  the  earliest  deposited 
stratified  rocks.  They  contain  evidence  of  having  once 
formed  a  part  of  the  ocean's  bed,  at  a  period  when  the 
crust  of  the  earth  was  warm  and  thin,  and  easily  bent 
by  the  weight  of  small  masses  of  detritus  and  sediment. 
They  were,  in  fact,  the  first  created  hills.  In  most  in- 
in stances  their  highest  points  are  unbroken  by  the  pro- 
trusion of  lava,  for  powerful  volcanoes  had  not  yet  burst 
forth.  It  is  interesting  to  study  these  ancient  ocean 
beds,  and  determine  by  observation  the  particular  val- 
leys or  plains,  the  depressions  of  which  produced  the 
particular  elevations. 

51.  The  principles  of  geonomy,  when  applied  to  other 
planetary  bodies,  indicate  the  existence  of  fluids,  which 
circulate  upon  their  surfaces  in  ellipses,  the  forms  and 
sizes  of  which  are  modified  by  astronomic  conditions 
peculiar  to  each  ;  but  the  directions  and  curves  of  the 
currents  can  be  determined  with  great  accuracy  by  the 
elevations  which  they  have  been  instrumental  in  pro- 
ducing. 


38  OUTLINES  OF  GEONOMY. 

SECTION  II. 

EQUILIBRIUM  OF  THE  EARTH. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  many  distinguished  modern  phi- 
losophers that  the  solid  materials,  which  constitute  the 
earth,  were  at  one  time  so  much  expanded  by  heat  that 
they  were  in  a  melted  and  liquid  state  ;  that  the  whole 
world  was  but  a  revolving  ball  of  fluid  and  liquid  sub- 
stances, which  occupied  much  more  space  than  the  earth 
does  at  present. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  temperature  of  the  space 
through  which  the  planets  of  our  solar  system  are  mov- 
ing, is  not  less  than  sixty  degrees  of  Fahrenheit's  ther- 
mometer below  zero  ;  and  we  know  that  the  line  of 
perpetual  frost  at  the  equator  is  only  fifteen  thousand 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

It  is  conjectured  by  some  astronomers  that  our  solar 
system  is  only  a  small  segment  of  a  vast  circle  of  sys- 
tems revolving  around  a  common  centre ;  and  they  sug- 
gest it  as  possible  that  in  one  part  of  the  circle,  the 
planets  are  all  melted  by  the  intense  heat  of  the  space 
through  which  they  are  passing,  and  that  in  another 
part  they  are  congealed  by  the  intense  cold.  This, 
however,  is  mere  speculation,  concerning  a  question 
which  cannot  be  settled  by  observation  nor  experiment. 
But  we  have  satisfactory  evidence  that,  whatever  may 
be  the  remote  causes,  the  fact  is,  the  surface  of  the 
earth  was  formerly  in  a  melted  condition,  so  that  each 


EQUILIBRIUM   OP   THE    EARTH.  39 

substance  was  at  liberty  to  move  to  the  place  assigned 
to  it  by  gravitation.  We  are  also  satisfied  that  the 
surface  of  the  earth  has  been  gradually  cooling ;  and 
that,  consequently,  its  external  substances  have  been 
condensing.  When  the  surface  of  the  whole  earth  was 
in  a  melted  state,  many  of  the  substances  which  now 
exist  in  the  condition  of  fluids  or  solids  must  have  been 
gases  or  vapors.  The  waters  which  now  constitute 
the  sea,  were  then  in  the  atmosphere,  mingled  with  va- 
pors of  sulphur,  phosphorus,  iodine,  and  many  other 
things  which  are  now  only  found  in  the  natural  state  as 
solid  substances. 

What  a  splendid  subject  have  we  here  for  the  con- 
templation of  a  chemical  philosopher !  It  is  his  prov- 
ince to  determine  the  effects  of  different  degrees  of  heat 
upon  the  specific  gravities  of  the  various  substances 
which  mingled  in  that  chaos  of  terrestrial  elements. 
There  were  no  solids  then  at  the  earth's  surface.  Met- 
als and  metalloids  were  in  a  liquid  state  ;  all  else  was 
vaporous.  When  the  condensing  process  began,  what 
substances  first  fell  from  the  atmosphere  upon  the 
earth  ?  Was  it  a  rain  of  sulphur,  phosphorus,  iodine, 
and  chlorine,  in  combination  with  oxygen  ;  and  then  a 
rain  of  acidulated  water  ;  then  water  more  pure  ;  until 
the  whole  ocean  fell  from  the  atmosphere  upon  the  solid 
surface,  and  enveloped  the  earth  in  a  blue  and  waving 
robe,  to  protect  it  from  the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun 
above,  and  the  more  powerful  heat  of  the  metallic  ocean 
below  ? 

The  astronomical  position  of  the  earth,  and  its  re- 
lation  to  the  sun,  are  such  that  the  tropical  regions 


40  OUTLINES   OF  GEONOMY. 

receive  a  constant  flood  of  heat,  while  the  poles  are 
supplied  scantily  and  alternately  ;  the  consequence  must 
have  been,  in  the  original  formation  of  the  earth's  crust, 
that  the  condensation  and  precipitation  of  substances  at 
the  poles  must  have  been  much  more  copious  than  in  the 
tropics,  and  dry  land  would  therefore  be  more  likely 
to  appear  at  the  poles  first,  while  water  would  be  ac- 
cumulated near  the  equator.  The  continents  did  prob- 
ably all  commence  rising  in  the  polar  regions,  and  grad- 
ually extend  towards  the  equator. 

The  fact  is  noticed  and  commented  on  by  all  phys- 
ical geographers,  that  much  the  larger  part  of  the  dry 
land  is  in  the  northern  hemisphere  ;  though  I  am  not 
aware  that  any  suggestion  has  ever  been  made  concern- 
ing the  cause  of  this  apparent  violation  of  the  laws  of 
equilibrium.  As  the  earth  revolves,  steadily,  upon  its 
axis,  gravitation  tends  to  make  the  two  hemispheres 
equal  in  every  respect ;  and  there  can  be  little  doubt 
that  the  inequality  which  apparently  exists  has  been 
produced  by  some  cause  which  acted  upon  one  hemi- 
sphere more  powerfully  than  upon  the  other.  Was  it 
the  unequal  distribution  of  heat  to  the  two  hemi- 
spheres ?  Did  some  apparent  accident  in  the  beginning 
elevate  a  little  more  land  in  the  north,  and  thus  give  it 
an  advantage  which,  from  its  very  nature,  would  in- 
crease indefinitely  ?  Or,  may  the  predominance  of 
northern  lands  and  southern  waters  be  attributed  to 
the  precession  of  the  equinoxes  ? 

Every  elementary  work  on  astronomy  contains  an  ex- 
planation of  the  principles  involved  in  the  precession  ; 
and  it  is  sufficient  here  to  state   the  result,  which  is, 


EQUILIBRIUM   OF   THE   EARTH.  41 

that  during  a  period  of  about  ten  thousand  years,  the 
spring  and  summer  in  the  northern  hemisphere  is  about 
seven  and  three  fourth  days  longer  than  in  the  south- 
ern, and  this  is  followed  by  an  equal  period  in  which 
the  spring  and  summer  in  the  southern  hemisphere  is 
the  longer. 

At  the  present  time  the  longer  summer  and  shorter 
winter  is  in  the  north,  and  will  continue  here  about  four 
thousand  years  to  come,  when  it  will  be  transferred  to 
the  southern  hemisphere.  Herschel  calculated  that  the 
precession  would  make  no  difference  in  the  absolute 
amount  of  light  and  heat  received,  but  that  it  would  be 
the  same  in  both  hemispheres,  the  greater  proximity 
of  the  earth  to  the  sun  in  perihelion  compensating  for  its 
shorter  time  ;  but  Humboldt  justly  remarks  in  sub- 
stance that  a  winter  longer  by  seven  and  three  quarter 
days  will  occasion  a  loss  of  heat  by  radiation  which  is 
not  fully  compensated  ;  and  therefore  the  greater  de- 
gree of  cold  which  is  well  known  to  exist  in  the  south- 
ern hemisphere  than  in  the  northern,  at  the  present 
time,  may  be  in  part,  at  least,  if  not  wholly,  attributed 
to  this  cause. 

Sir  Charles  Lyell,  in  his  Principles  of  Geology,  vol. 
i.  p.  121,  adopts  the  same  view  of  the  subject.  He 
says,  "  Perhaps  no  very  sensible  effect  may  be  produced 
by  this  source  of  disturbance ;  yet  the  geologist  should 
bear  in  mind  that  to  a  certain  extent  it  operates  alter- 
nately on  each  of  the  two  hemispheres  for  a  period  of 
upwards  of  ten  thousand  years,  dividing  unequally  the 
times  during  which  the  annual  supply  of  solar  light  and 
heat  is  received.  This  cause  may  sometimes  tend  to  coun- 
4* 


42  OUTLINES   OF  GEONOMY. 

terbalance  inequalities  of  temperature  resulting  from 
other  far  more  influential  circumstances  ;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  must  sometimes  tend  to  increase  the  ex- 
treme of  deviation  arising  from  particular  combinations 
of  causes.  But  whatever  may  be  at  present  the  inferi- 
ority of  heat  in  the  temperate  and  frigid  zones  south 
of  the  line,  it  is  quite  evident  that  the  cold  would  be 
far  more  intense  if  there  happened,  instead  of  open  sea, 
to  be  tracts  of  elevated  land  between  the  fifty-fifth  and 
seventieth  parallel ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  cold 
would  be  moderated  if  there  was  more  land  between 
the  line  and  forty-fifth  degree  of  south  latitude." 

If  we  multiply  ten  thousand  years  by  seven  and  three 
fourth  days,  we  find  that  it  amounts,  in  the  aggregate, 
to  about  two  hundred  and  twelve  years  ;  now,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  if  we  could  have  two  hundred  and  twelve 
years  of  constant  winter  in  the  southern  hemisphere, 
and  summer  in  the  northern,  the  currents  would,  during 
all  that  time,  bring  to  the  north  the  detritus  of  lands, 
which  the  cold  tempests  and  the  frosts  would  naturally 
break  up  in  the  south  ;  and  we  should  expect  to  see  a 
predominance  of  dry  land  in  the  north.  Instead  of 
having  the  whole  two  hundred  and  twelve  years  of 
southern  winter  at  once,  we  have  it  equally  divided  be- 
tween ten  thousand  years,  so  that  each  year  the  south 
receives  but  about  seven  and  three  fourth  days  of 
colder  weather  :  this  makes  no  difference  in  the  aggre- 
gate effects.  It  will,  doubtless,  be  suggested  by  some 
critical  readers  that  the  land  gained  to  one  hemisphere 
by  the  precession  during  a  period  of  teu  thousand  years 
must  be  lost  during  the  following  period  ;  but  this  does 


EQUILIBRIUM   OF   THE  EARTH.  43 

not  necessarily  follow.  Before  we  come  to  such  a  con- 
clusion we  should  consider  all  the  possible  effects  that 
the  precession  of  the  equinoxes  might  have  produced, 
not  only  upon  the  movements  of  the  waters,  but  upon 
the  precipitation  of  substances  held  in  solution  by  the 
waters,  and  also  upon  the  cooling  of  the  crust  of  the 
earth  during  the  earlier  ages  of  creation  ;  we  .should 
also  consider  whether  the  disturbance  of  equilibrium 
produced  during  one  period  might  not,  by  a  change  of 
circumstances,  have  been  increased  during  the  next,  in- 
stead of  being  compensated  and  balanced.  Further- 
more, we  should  consider  whether  the  stage  of  creation 
at  which  the  earth  had  arrived  in  the  commencement 
of  a  particular  period  may  not  have  been  such  that  a 
slight  increase  of  heat  in  one  hemisphere  would  produce 
effects  which  could  not  be  compensated  during  a  large 
number  of  succeeding  cycles.  Is  it  not  possible  that 
the  greater  weight  and  pressure  of  the  more  condensed 
atmosphere  in  the  colder  southern  hemisphere  may  have 
depressed  the  earth's  crust  when  it  was  very  young  and 
delicate,  and  thus  forced  a  portion  of  the  subjacent  lava 
to  escape  into  the  northern  hemisphere? 

It  is  frequently  said  that  continents  grow  broader 
towards  the  north  pole  ;  but  this  is  only  apparently  so. 
The  currents  of  the  whole  northern  hemisphere  tend  to 
converge  to  the  north  pole  ;  the  lands,  of  course,  do 
the  same  ;  and  the  consequence  is,  that  the  arctic  circle 
is  mostly  occupied  by  land  ;  but  the  distance  around 
the  earth  at  the  arctic  circle  is  so  small  that  it  does 
not  require  such  broad  lands  to  fill  the  whole  space  as 
it  does  nearer  the  equator. 


44  OUTLINES   OF  GEONOMY. 

The  greatest  part  of  the  ocean  waters  in  the  north- 
ern hemisphere  move  north  as  far  as  Iceland  or  Behring's 
Strait,  and  south  to  the  north  part  of  South  America  ; 
half  way  between  these,  near  the  fortieth  degree  of 
north  latitude,  the  lands  are  broadest,  highest,  and 
most  productive.  Follow  the  fortieth  degree  around 
the  artificial  globe,  and  we  shall  pass  near  the  regions 
most  celebrated  in  human  history,  at  the  same  time  that 
we  are  traversing  the  most  extended  dry  lands  on  the 
earth.  From  this  it  appears  that  the  lands  are  broadest 
in  the  middle  of  the  ellipses. 

In  reflecting  upon  the  subject  of  the  predominance 
of  the  northern  lands  and  the  southern  waters,  the  fol- 
lowing hypothetical  explanation  has  occurred  to  me  :  — 

It  being  admitted  that  the  earth  has  been,  during  in- 
definite ages,  contracting  its  dimensions  in  consequence 
of  the  gradual  radiation  and  loss  of  its  original  heat,  and 
it  being  a  natural  law  that,  under  such  circumstances, 
the  centrifugal  force  increases,  and  causes  a  greater 
bulging  at  the  equator  and  a  flattening  at  the  poles,  — 
if,  when  the  crust  of  the  earth  was  first  hardened,  it 
resisted  the  flattening  tendency  at  the  south  pole,  and 
yielded  to  it  at  the  north,  the  effect  would  be  to  pro- 
duce precisely  such  a  predominance  of  land  in  the  north 
and  of  water  in  the  south  as  actually  exists. 

The  precession  of  the  equinoxes  may  have  been  a 
cause  of  the  more  rapid  cooling  and  hardening  of  one 
pole  than  the  other. 

If,  after  this  inequality  was  produced,  whatever  was 
the  cause,  the  ocean  currents  commenced  moving  be- 
tween the  equator  and  the  poles  in  both  hemispheres ' 


EQUILIBRIUM   OF  THE  EARTH.  45 

alike,  the  result  would  be,  that  the  northern  hemisphere, 
having  shallower  seas,  would  have  its  crust  most  wrorn 
and  elevated  in  some  places,  and  depressed  by  the  weight 
of  detritus  in  other  places,  so  that  its  land  would  be 
the  first  to  rise  above  the  level  of  the  ocean.  That 
part  which  rose  in  arctic  regions  would  be  broken  up 
by  frost,  and  form  detritus  to  swell  the  bulk  of  lauds 
between  the  arctic  and  the  tropics,  where  we  actually 
find  the  lands  most  elevated  and  broad.  The  lands  at 
the  south  pole,  not  being  so  much  depressed,  would 
form  an  antarctic  continent,  and  between  the  antarctic 
circle  and  the  tropic  of  Capricorn  would  be  the  great 
bulk  of  the  ocean,  gathered,  and,  as  it  were,  clinging 
there,  upon  one  side  of  the  earth,  to  preserve  its  equi- 
librium. These  are  curious  and  complicated  questions 
of  dynamical  geonomy,  which  I  will  not  pursue  farther  at 
present,  as  they  are  not  necessarily  connected  with  my 
main  argument,  though  as  subordinate  matters  they  are 
highly  interesting. 

The  natural  laws  of  equilibrium  must  necessarily  tend 
to  make  the  two  hemispheres  of  the  earth  equal,  and  if 
the  partial  distribution  of  heat,  or  refrigeration  of  the 
earth,  produces  a  temporary  external  inequality  of  the 
hemispheres,  there  will  be  a  tendency  of  the  fluids,  both 
above  and  below  the  crust,  to  move,  and  ultimately  to 
restore  the  equilibrium.  We  know  that  the  atmos- 
phere and  aqueous  fluid  do  actually  more  for  this  pur- 
pose, but  we  have  not  hitherto  regarded  earthquakes  as 
the  results  of  movements  of  the  lava  to  accomplish  the 
same  object ;  I  have  no  doubt,  however,  that  such  is  the 
fact. 


46  OUTLINES   OP  GEONOMY. 

As  soon  as  the  primitive  ocean  covered  the  earth,  and 
the  polar  regions  became  colder  than  the  tropics,  a  cir- 
culation of  winds  and  waters  commenced  to  restore  the 
equilibrium,  which  has  been  continually  disturbed  by 
the  differences  of  temperature. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  the  actual  amount  of  matter  in 
one  hemisphere  of  the  globe  is  continually  the  same  as 
that  in  the  other  ;  or,  if,  through  any  apparent  accident, 
one  hemisphere  should  temporarily  get  the  advantage, 
a  movement  of  the  air,  the  water,  or  the  lava  immedi- 
ately begins  to  restore  the  balance.  If,  in  consequence 
of  the  more  rapid  cooling  of  the  southern  hemisphere, 
from  astronomic  causes,  there  should  be,  for  a  series  of 
years,  a  greater  amount  of  precipitation  of  substances 
from  an  aeriform  or  a  liquid  state  to  a  solid  state,  it 
might,  in  the  early  and  nascent  condition  of  the  planet, 
produce  a  greater  subsidence  of  its  young  and  tender 
crust,  between  the  equator  and  the  antarctic  circle, 
than  what  took  place  in  a  corresponding  region  of  the 
northern  hemisphere  during  the  same  period.  This 
general  subsidence  of  the  whole  southern  hemisphere 
would,  of  course,  cause  a  movement  of  the  subjacent  lava 
to  the  south  pole,  and  across  the  mid-line  of  the  earth, 
into  the  northern  hemisphere  ;  and  thus,  though  the 
southern  seas  would  be  larger  and  the  northern  lands 
higher,  the  relative  quantities  of  matter  would  be  the 
same  in  each  hemisphere. 

The  tendency  of  the  two  hemispheres  to  keep  in  equi- 
librium seems  to  be  indicated  by  the  symmetry  which 
is  to  be  observed  in  the  ocean  currents  of  the  two  oppo- 
site hemispheres.     This  is  especially  apparent  in  the 


EQUILIBRIUM   OF   THE   EARTH.  47 

Mozambique  current  being  originally  antagonized  by  a 
current  of  which  the  Red  Sea  is  a  relic.  So  also  the 
normal  current  that  flows  to  the  equator  along  the 
west  coast  of  Africa,  appears  to  be  antagonized  by  the 
European  current  that  flows  along  the  eastern  part  of 
the  Atlantic,  to  meet,  and,  as  it  wrere,  to  balance  the 
African  current  at  the  western  point  of  South  America, 
near  Cape  St.  Roque ;  here  the  two  currents  separate 
again,  like  two  limbs  proceeding  from  one  vertebra,  and 
each  pursues  an  analogous  course  to  the  opposite  poles. 
From  the  poles  again,  a  little  farther  west,  we  find  two 
currents  moving  towards  the  equator,  meeting  a'Jittle 
at  the  west  of  Panama,  and  moving  onward  together, 
until  the  laws  of  equilibrium  require  them  to  part  and 
move  towards  the  polar  extremities  of  the  earth  ;  one 
current  impinging,  as  it  goes,  upon  the  eastern  coast  of 
Asia,  and  the  other  upon  the  eastern  coast  of  Australia. 
Looking  now  a  little  farther  west,  we  find  a  current 
in  the  Indian  Ocean,  moving  along  the  western  coast 
of  Australia  to  the  equator,  and  then  turning  again 
towards  the  pole  ;  a  part  or  branch  of  it  running  through 
the  Mozambique  Channel,  the  other  branch  going  to  the 
east  of  Madagascar.  In  the  opposite  hemisphere,  the 
mountains  of  Asia  are  enduring  witnesses,  that  a  cur- 
rent once  moved  on  the  western  side  of  the  Aldan 
Mountains  to  the  tropics,  turned  west  and  north-west 
on  the  northern  side  of  the  Himalayas  and  the  Hindoo 
Kosh,  and  returned  north  by  the  east  side  of  the  Oural, 
seventeen  hundred  miles,  to  the  Frozen  Sea.  In  fact, 
we  have,  in  the  Asiatic  ellipse,  the  counterpart  of 
the  Indian  Ocean  ellipse.     I  do  not  wish  to  be  under- 


48  OUTLINES  OF  GEONOMY. 

stood  that  the  ocean  currents  in  the  two  hemispheres 
are  all  now  symmetrical,  but  that  it  is  evident  that  they 
originally  were  so  when  the  land  was  all  beneath  the 
sea,  and  even  now  they  are  as  symmetrical  as  the  ine- 
qualities of  the  land  will  permit  them  to  be. 

The  idea  has  been  advanced  by  some  theorists,  that 
geological  phenomena  may  be  explained  by  supposing 
that  the  axis  of  the  earth  has  been  changed,  so  that  what 
are  now  the  poles  were  formerly  the  tropical  regions  ; 
and  distinguished  astronomers  have  been  at  the  pains 
to  show  that  such  could  not  have  been  the  case  ;  but 
when  the  fact  is  established  and  admitted  that  the 
mountains  are  produced  by  currents  that  run  between 
the  poles  and  the  equator,  we  need  look  no  farther  for 
proof  that  the  poles  have  remained  unchanged.  May 
we  not  hope  that  in  the  future  progress  of  discovery,  we 
may  yet  find,  in  the  physical  constitution  of  the  earth, 
some  marks  produced  by  astronomic  cycles  or  changes, 
such  as  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes,  and  thus  con- 
nect astronomical  and  geological  periods. 


ELLIPTICAL  PATHS  OP  THE  CURRENTS.  49 

SECTION  III. 

ELLIPTICAL  PATHS  OF  THE  CURRENTS. 

The  tendency  of  the  waters  of  the  ocean  is  to  run  in 
irregular  oval  currents,  or  elliptical  circuits. 

The  currents  appear  to  be,  at  present,  divided  into 
seven  great  ellipses,  as  follows  :  — 

1.  The  ellipse  which  circulates  in  the  north-east  part 
of  the  Pacific,  a  part  of  which  is  elevated  and  drained 
so  as  to  constitute  the  North-west  American  ellipse  of 
land  :  let  us  name  this  the  Vancouver  ellipse. 

2.  The  Siam  or  North-west  Pacific  ellipse,  which 
washes  the  shores  of  China. 

3.  The  North  Atlantic,  or  Gulf  Stream  ellipse. 

4.  The  South  Atlantic  ellipse. 

5.  The  Indian  Ocean  ellipse. 

6.  7.  The  Chili  or  South  Pacific  ellipse,  which  is  prob- 
ably divided  into  two  submarine  ellipses  of  land.  Ac- 
cording to  Lieutenant  Maury,  the  South  Pacific  is  divid- 
ed into  two  parts  by  currents  which  run  in  a  north  and 
south  direction,  between  South  America  and  Australia. 

Judging  by  the  forms  of  the  land,  I  presume  that 
there  is  a  small  ellipse  which  circulates  between  the 
southern  shore  of  Australia  and  the  antarctic  continent. 
This  can  only  be  determined  with  certainty  by  a  future 
survey  of  this  region. 

The  analogy  of  the  sea  between  New  Zealand  and 
Australia  to  the  South  Atlantic  leads  me  to  suspect  that 
5 


50  OUTLINES   OF   GEONOMY. 

there  is  also  a  small  ellipse  circulating  in  the  New- 
Zealand  Sea. 

If  these  two  small  ellipses  do  exist  in  the  vicinity  of 
Australia,  it  is  because  the  lands  in  that  region  are 
rising  and  interfering  with  the  regular  operations  of 
the  large  primitive  ellipses. 

It  seems  to  me  that  I  can  trace  an  analogy  to  the 
North  and  South  Atlantic  Ocean,  on  a  diminutive  scale, 
in  the  channel  that  extends  from  Behring's  Strait  to  the 
antarctic  continent,  along  the  eastern  coasts  of  Asia  and 
Australia,  and  I  cannot  help  fancying  that  continents 
analogous  to  Europe  and  Africa  are  now  in  the  process 
of  forming  and  rising  in  the  North  and  South  Pacific  ; 
the  South-east  Pacific  being  the  representative  or  rep- 
etition of  the  Indian  Oq&an,  —  the  waters  between  New 
Zealand  and  Australia  repetitions  of  the  South  Atlantic, 
—  and  the  waters  between  Behring's  Strait  and  Siam 
repetitions  of  the  North  Atlantic ;  but  these  specula- 
tions must  be  postponed  for  the  present. 

To  the  above-mentioned  ellipses  must  be  added  three 
oceanic  ellipses  which  have  been  drained,  but  whose 
mountain  ranges  show  plainly  the  directions  in  which 
the  currents  which  created  them  formerly  circulated  ; 
they  are  Asia,  Europe,  and  North  America  ;  and  perhaps 
we  should  reckon  North-west  America  as  an  ellipse, 
about  one  fourth  drained. 

Subordinate  ellipses,  or  circular  currents,  appear  to 
be  generated  in  small  land-locked  seas,  bays,  and  gulfs, 
by  offsets  from  the  great  ellipses  ;  thus,  in  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  there  is  a  distinct  ellipse,  produced  by  the  water 
entering  through  the  Caribbean  Sea,  and  passing  out 


ELLIPTICAL  PATHS   OP   THE   CURRENTS.  51 

again  through  tho  Florida  Channel.  This  sub-ellipse  is 
generally  considered  as  the  principal  instigator  of  the 
Gulf  Stream  ;  but  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  would  cir- 
culate in  an  ellipse,  just  as  they  do  now,  if  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  and  the  Caribbean  Sea  were  both  entirely  closed. 
The  circulation  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  instead  of  being 
a  necessary  part  of  the  North  Atlantic  circulation,  is 
merely  an  unessential  addition  to  it.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  the  still  greater  sub-ellipse,  which  sets  from  the 
North-east  Pacific  into  Bengal  Bay,  through  the  Indian 
Archipelago.  The  Gulf  Stream  is  here  repeated  on  a 
larger  scale,  in  every  respect ;  not  only  so,  the  whole 
coast,  from  India  to  Alaska,  is  constituted  of  repeti- 
tions of  peninsulas  and  gulfs,  produced  by  the  current 
entering  on  one  side  of  an  ©land  sea,  and  passing 
out  on  the  other  side,  thus  constituting  a  remarkable 
series  of  sub-ellipses.  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  cause 
of  many  currents  of  the  deep  sea,  which  have  hitherto 
seemed  mysterious,  will  be  perfectly  plain  when  the 
bottom  of  the  ocean  is  well  known,  and  the  elliptical 
circulation  understood. 

Lieutenant  Maury  very  modestly  remarks,  "There 
are  also  about  the  equator  in  this  ocean  (the  Pacific) 
some  curious  currents  which  I  do  not  understand,  and 
as  to  which  observations  are  not  sufficient  yet  to  afford 
a  proper  explanation  or  description.  There  are  many 
of  them,  some  of  which,  at  times,  run  with  great  force. 
On  a  voyage  from  the  Society  to  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
I  encountered  one  running  at  the  rate  of  ninety-six 
miles  a  day."  I  have  a  sanguine  hope,  amounting  to  a 
confident  expectation  that  when  the  elliptical  theory  is 


52  OUTLINES   OF  GEONOMY. 

applied  to  those  currents,  they  will  be  readily  under- 
stood, after  a  more  particular  survey  of  them  has  been 
made  by  the  distinguished  head  of  our  National  Obser- 
vatory, aided  by  the  numerous  ship-masters,  who  report 
their  observations  to  him. 


We  may  enumerate  six  different  causes  which  are 
constantly  tending  to  move  the  waters,  or  to  modify 
their  motions. 

1.  The  tides  cause  a  flow  twice  a  day  towards  the 
west,  which  is  each  time  followed  by  an  ebbing  reaction 
eastward. 

2.  The  earth,  as  it  nftves  upon  its  axis  from  west  to 
east,  successively  presents  its  different  parts  to  the  heat 
and  light,  and  other  influences  of  the  sun  and  moon. 

3.  The  evaporation  of  water  from  one  part  of  the 
earth,  which  falls  in  rain  or  snow  in  another,  and  then 
flows  back  again. 

4.  The  winds  which  blow  upon  the  surface  of  the 
waters  and  warm  or  cool  them,  and  also  force  them  to 
move  temporarily  in  the  same  direction. 

5.  The  inequalities  of  temperature  between  the  polar 
and  the  tropical  regions  is  the  principal  cause  of  ocean 
currents. 

6.  The  rotatory  motion  of  the  earth,  communicating 
itself  to  the  waters  of  the  ocean,  causing  currents  that 
are  moving  towards  the  equator  to  incline  westward, 
and  those  moving  towards  either  pole  to  incline  east- 
ward.    Let  me  explain  this  more  particularly.     As  the 


ELLIPTICAL  PATHS   OP   THE   CURRENTS.  53 

earth  revolves  upon  its  axis,  the  particles  of  water,  air, 
or  any  other  substances  which  are  near  the  pole,  have 
but  a  short  distance  to  travel  to  go  entirely  around  the 
earth  ;  or,  if  they  remain  still,  and  are  carried  around 
by  the  rotation  of  the  earth,  they  have  to  proceed  but 
a  short  distance  before  they  complete  the  circuit. 

At  a  greater  distance  from  the  pole  the  journey 
around  it  is  longer,  and  at  the  equator  the  circumfer- 
ence is  twenty-four  thousand  miles.  In  other  words, 
all  the  substances  on  the  surface  of  the  earth  at  the 
equator  are  carried  twenty-four  thousand  miles  every 
time  that  the  earth  revolves  ;  and  the  distance  around 
decreases  continually  as  they  approach  the  pole.  When 
any  substance  moves  from  a  part  of  the  earth  which  is 
farther  from  the  pole  to  one  that  is  nearer,  it  carries 
with  it  a  momentum,  or  tendency  to  motion,  greater 
than  it  finds  among  similar  substances  there,  and,  of 
course,  it  moves  eastwardly  faster  than  the  others  do. 
For  this  reason  a  current  in  the  ocean  that  would  other- 
wise flow  directly  poleward  from  the  equator,  actually 
curves  several  degrees  eastwardly  ;  on  the  other  hand, 
currents  which  otherwise  would  move  from  the  poles 
directly  to  the  equator,  are  made  to  curve  westwardly. 

The  same  fact  may  be  stated  thus  :  When  the  waters 
of  the  polar  region  move  in  currents  towards  the  equa- 
tor, they  are  not  permitted  to  proceed  due  north  or 
south,  but  are  made  to  curve  so  as  to  reach  the  equator 
several  degrees  west  of  the  place  from  whence  they  set 
out ;  on  the  contrary,  a  current  going  from  the  equator 
is  not  permitted  to  proceed  to  the  pole  in  a  direct  line, 
but  the  rotation  of  the  earth  forces  it  out  of  its  course, 
5* 


54  OUTLINES   OF  GEONOMY. 

and  causes  it  to  terminate  its  journey  several  degrees 
farther  to  the  east  than  the  place  from  whence  it  started. 
This  modifying  effect  of  the  earth's  rotatory  motion 
upon  the  currents,  to  and  from  the  tropics,  is  the  key  to 
many  important  facts  in  geonomy. 

EQUATORIAL   CURRENTS. 

Writers  on  physical  geography  have  much  to  say 
about  "  the  great  equatorial  current ; n  but  it  will  be  per- 
ceived, that  what  appears  to  be  one  current  consists  of 
the  tropical  segments  of  all  the  elliptical  currents.  Each 
great  oceanic  ellipse  has  one  of  its  extremities,  or  ap- 
sides, in  the  tropical  and  the  other  in  the  polar  region  ; 
any  one,  therefore,  unacquainted  with  these  principles, 
would  naturally  be  led,  by  mere  practical  facts,  to  sup- 
pose that  there  is  one  continuous  current  of  water  tend- 
ing to  make  its  way  along  the  equator,  in  a  westward 
direction,  entirely  around  the  earth.  That  this  is  not 
the  case,  however,  we  might  presume  — independently  of 
geonomic  considerations — from  the  geographical  ar- 
rangement of  the  two  Americas,  which  renders  such  an 
equatorial  flow  impossible.  The  only  place  where  the 
waters  can  escape  wTestwardly  from  the  Atlantic  or  from 
the  Polar  Sea,  is  through  Behring's  Strait,  or  around 
Cape  Horn  ;  and  at  both  these  points  the  fact  is  that, 
as  far  as  we  know,  there  is  as  much  water  passes  to  the 
east  as  to  the  west,  and  probably  there  is  more  ;  thus 
proving  that  there  is  no  such  tendency  to  a  continuous 
equatorial  westward  flow  as  is  commonly  supposed  to 
exist.     Depend  upon  it,  if  there  were  any  necessity  for 


ELLIPTICAL   PATHS   OF  THE   CURRENTS.  55 

such  a  flow,  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  or  of  Suez  would 
never  have  existed  ;  or  if  they  had,  they  would  have  long 
since  been  swept  away  by  the  "great  equatorial  cur- 
rent." If  correct  notions  had  been  more  prevalent  con- 
cerning the  design  or  causes  of  the  ocean's  movements, 
the  idea  would  never  have  been  entertained  of  such  a 
continuous  westward  current.  The  truth  seems  to  be, 
that  water  flows  westwardly  along  the  equator  until  it 
acquires  a  certain  degree  of  warmth,  and  then  it  turns 
off  in  an  easterly  curve,  poleward,  where  it  parts  with 
its  caloric,  and  returns  to  the  tropics  again  by  a  west- 
erly curve  ;  the  two  currents  together  constituting  a 
circuit  of  an  elliptical  form,  the  equatorial  portion  of 
which  moves  westward,  and  the  polar  segment  eastward. 
The  reason  why  water  flows  from  the  tropics  when  it 
is  heated,  is,  because  heat  expands  it  and  causes  it  to 
occupy  more  space  than  when  cold.  In  order  to  find 
more  space,  that  part  of  it  which  is  nearest  the  surface 
flows  towards  the  poles,  and  in  doing  so  passes  over  the 
surface  of  the  intervening  waters.  It  gradually  parts 
with  its  heat  as  it  proceeds,  but  is  enabled  to  continue 
its  course  because  it  is  constantly  arriving  in  colder  and 
colder  regions,  so  that  its  relative  superiority  of  warmth 
is  still  maintained.  While  it  is  in  this  superficial  situa- 
tion, it  is  continually  losing  a  part  of  its  substance  by 
evaporation.  That  portion  which  evaporates  leaves  all 
its  salt  behind  ;  the  remainder,  therefore,  becomes  ulti- 
mately so  much  heavier  than  equal  quantities  of  fresher 
waters  of  the  same  temperature,  it  consequently  sinks 
below  the  surface,  occupying  an  intermediate  position, 
with  the  fresher  ice  water  of  the  poles  flowing  over  it, 


56  OUTLINES   OF  GEONOMY. 

and  the  colder  and  heavier  water  flowing  beneath  it 
towards  the  tropics ;  but  it  continues  its  own  course 
poleward,  freshening,  cooling,  and  sinking,  until  it 
becomes  assimilated  to  the  deep  polar  waters  ;  then  it 
turns  again,  gradually  warming,  and  swelling,  and  ris- 
ing, until  it  overflows  again,  under  the  influence  of  the 
tropical  sun.  From  this  statement  it  will  be  perceived 
that  water  only  flows  westward  and  tropicward  until  it 
becomes  sufficiently  warmed,  and  it  only  flows  poleward 
and  eastward  until  it  becomes  sufficiently  cold  and 
condensed. 

It  will  also  be  apparent  that  we  may  with  quite  as 
much  propriety  speak  of  a  continuous  eastward  polar 
flow  of  waters  as  of  a  westward  equatorial  flow  ;  for 
there  is  near  the  north  pole,-and  also  near  the  south 
pole,  a  tendency  of  the  waters  eastward  in  each  ellipse, 
while  near  the  equator  the  waters  of  each  ellipse  tend 
westward.  This  will  be  understood  at  once  from 
an  inspection  of  the  diagram  map.  It  will  be  seen  that 
there  is  really  a  tendency  in  the  poleward  currents,  near 
the  fortieth  degree  of  latitude  in  each  hemisphere,  to 
flow  eastward,  and  also,  in  currents  from  the  pole,  a 
tendency,  between  the  fortieth  degree  and  the  equator,  to 
flow  westward,  and  that  the  effect  of  these  two  tenden- 
cies is  to  produce  ellipses. 

The  whole  proceeding  might  be  experimentally  illus- 
trated by  filling  a  trough  with  water,  putting  in  blocks 
of  ice  at  both  extremities,  and  then  letting  a  heated 
stove  pipe  pass  over  the  water  at  right  angles  to  the 
long  diameter  of  the  trough.  As  the  water  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  trough  became  heated,  it  would  flow  towards 


ELLIPTICAL   PATHS   OF   THE   CURRENTS.  57 

the  icy  extremities,  and  after  becoming  cooled,  would 
return  again.  If  the  water  in  the  trough  contained 
considerable  sediment,  it  would  be  deposited  at  the  bot- 
tom, in  the  track  of  the  currents  ;  but  the  forms  which 
the  detritus  would  assume  at  the  bottom  would  not  be 
elliptical,  as  they  are  in  the  ocean,  for  the  reason  that 
there  would  not  be  in  the  trough  any  movement  to  rep- 
resent the  eastward  and  westward  currents  of  the  sea ; 
and  the  detritus  would,  therefore,  be  deposited  in  the  same 
straight  line,  both  in  moving  to  and  from  the  centre. 

If,  instead  of  such  a  trough  as  I  have  described,  we 
take  a  very  large,  circular  caldron  of  water,  and  put 
ice  into  an  upright  cylinder  in  its  centre,  to  represent 
the  north  polar  region,  and  then  put  a  hollow  rim  of 
sheet  iron,  filled  with  coals,  around  the  rim  of  the  cal- 
dron, to  represent  the  equator,  and  if  now  we  make  it 
revolve,  we  shall  have  a  very^good  representation  of  the 
northern  hemisphere  of  the  earth  and  its  currents. 

Under  these  circumstances  the  sediment  in  the  water 
will  be  deposited  in  a  series  of  ellipses,  with  their  long 
diameters  extending  from  the  warm  circumference  to 
the  cold  centre  precisely  like  the  directions  of  the 
ocean  currents,  and  of  the  mountain  ranges.  The 
cold  water  will  flow  from  the  polar  centre  to  the 
outer  or  equatorial  edge  in  a  curve,  the  convexity 
of  which  will  be  in  the  direction  in  which  the  cal- 
dron is  turning ;  but  in  returning  to  the  polar  centre, 
the  curve  will  be  convex  in  the  opposite  direction. 
Theoretically  it  may  at  first  seem  that  the  curve  to  the 
pole  should  be  precisely  as  the  one  from  it ;  and  it 
would  be  so,  all  else  equal ;  but  it  is  deflected  west- 


58  OUTLINES  OF  GEONOMY. 

ward,  after  it  begins  to  move  from  the  tropics,  by  the 
opposite  current,  which  is  continually  warming,  swell- 
ing, and  rising  beneath  it,  and,  as  it  were,  crowding  it 
over  westward,  until  it  has  performed  half  its  journey 
to  the  pole ;  then,  however,  it  does  move  eastwardly, 
until  it  completes  the  circuit. 

It  should  be  considered  that  all  lines  proceeding 
north  from  the  equator  necessarily  come  together  at  the 
pole.  A  current,  therefore,  which  moves  to  the  tropics, 
and  then  proceeds  a  given  distance  westward  before 
it  returns,  will,  of  course,  have  made  a  complete  ellipti- 
cal circuit,  when  it  has  reached  the  pole  again. 


THE  GULF  STREAM. 

The  Gulf  Stream  is  a  name  given  to  a  current,  or, 
rather,  a  succession  of  independent  currents,  which  were 
formerly  regarded  as  one,  and  were  described  as  follows  : 
"  Eunning  from  the  Indian  Ocean  around  Good  Hope, 
into  the  South  Atlantic,  and  following  the  western  coast 
of  Africa  until  it  reaches  the  most  western  point,  it 
crosses  the  Atlantic  to  the  most  eastern  point  of 
South  America,  where  it  becomes  divided  into  two 
branches,  one  of  which  runs  south  along  the  eastern 
coast  of  South  America  to  Patagonia ;  the  other  runs 
along  the  north-east  coast  of  South  America,  enters  the 
Caribbean  Sea,  and  passes  through  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
around  which  it  circulates,  and  passes  out  between 
Florida  and  Cuba,  and  proceeding  along  the  eastern 
coast  of  North  America  as  far  as  Nantucket,  it  then 
turns  eastward,  and  crosses  the  Atlantic  to  the  coasts  of 
England  and  Norway." 


ELLIPTICAL   PATHS   OF  THE   CURRENTS.  59 

Later  discoveries,  and  especially  the  valuable  re- 
searches of  Lieutenant  Maury,  have  continually  tended 
to  the  conclusion  that  each  ocean  has  a  circulation  inde- 
pendent of  the  others  ;  that  there  are,  in  fact,  as  many 
Gulf  Streams  as  there  are  distinct  oceans. 

The  Gulf  of  Mexico  is  the  most  western  part  of  the 
Atlantic  ellipse  of  waters.  When  we  reflect  that  the 
waters,  in  all  ellipses,  run  west  in  the  tropics  until  they 
become  sufficiently  heated,  and  then  turn  north-east, 
we  can  understand  why  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  extends  so 
far  west ;  why  the  waters  there  are  warmer  than  in  any 
other  part  of  the  Atlantic  ;  and  why,  when  they  leave 
there,  they  move  north  and  east  until  they  reach  the 
north  of  Scandinavia. 

We  can  also  understand  why,  on  the  south-eastern 
coast  of  Asia,  the  currents  and  lands  are  so  strictly 
analogous  to  those  of  the  south-eastern  coast  of  North 
America  ;  why  the  Bay  of  Bengal  is  situated,  in  relation 
to  the  currents,  precisely  as  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  is.  In 
studying  the  Mediterranean  and  Caspian  Seas,  we  can 
also  perceive  that  they  were  formerly  situated,  in  rela- 
tion to  the  western  currents,  just- as  the  Bengal  Bay  and 
the  Mexican  Gulf  are  now. 

Hereafter  the  "  Gulf  Stream  "  must  be  confined  to 
the  North  Atlantic  Ocean ;  and  if  it  receives  the  excess 
of  water  that  is  forced  into  it  from  the  other  oceans, 
the  circumstance  must  not  be  misinterpreted.  The  truth 
is,  that  the  Atlantic  Ocean  would  have  the  same  ellipti- 
cal circulation  if  it  were  walled  up  so  that  no  other 
ocean  could  communicate  with  it.  The  probability  is, 
that,  so  far  is  it  from  being  in  any  degree  dependent 


60  OUTLINES   OF   GEONOMY. 

upon  the  Indian  Ocean  or  the  South  Atlantic,  they  rather 
tend  to  derange  its  normal  circulation,  and  force  it  to  ex- 
tend its  operations  farther  north  than  it  otherwise  would. 

The  North  Atlantic  Gulf  Stream,  or  ellipse,  is  better 
known  than  any  other,  and  may  serve  as  a  model  or 
type  of  all  the  others.  Any  one  who  objects  to  this 
is  bound  to  give  some  good  reason  why  the  waters  in 
this  particular  ocean  should  circulate  on  different  prin- 
ciples, or  in  a  different  manner,  from  other  oceans.  It 
is  commonly  said  that  the  Gulf  Stream  has  its  head  or 
focus  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  ;  but  it  may  as  well  be 
said  to  have  its  focus  in  the  White  Sea.  The  fact  is, 
that  it  has  two  foci  —  one  at  its  second  or  south-west 
segment,  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  the  other  at  its 
sixth  or  north-east  segment,  in  the  Frozen  Ocean.  The 
same  is  true  of  all  ellipses ;  they  have  their  two  ex- 
tremes of  cold  and  heat  at  their  second  and  sixth  seg- 
ments, and  between  these  two  segments  the  currents 
continually  circulate. 

If  we  make  a  tin  trough  three  inches  in  diameter,  and 
arrange  it  in  an  elliptical  or  circular  form,  the  ellipse 
being  twelve  feet  in  its  long  diameter,  and  if  now  we  fill 
it  with  water,  and  put  one  apsis  or  extremity  of  the 
ellipse  upon  ice,  and  the  other  upon  fire,  we  shall  see  a 
circulation  immediately  commence  between  these  two 
extremities  of  the  elliptical  trough.  This  is  precisely 
the  predicament  in  which  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic 
are  placed,  so  far  as  the  causes  of  the  circulation  are 
concerned  ;  and  this  ocean  is  in  no  respect  different 
from  the  other  oceans  ;  they  enjoy  no  exemption  from 
the  operation  of  the  natural  laws  that  force  the  Atlantic 


ELLIPTICAL  PATHS   OF   THE   CURRENTS.  61 

Gulf  Stream  to  circulate  elliptically.  Each  of  them 
has  its  second  segment  filled  with  warm  water,  and  its 
sixth  with  cold.  What,  then,  is  to  prevent  a  circula- 
tion from  taking  place  ? 

I  have  no  doubt  whatever  that  the  ellipses  all  run  in  a 
manner  perfectly  analogous  to  the  North  Atlantic  Gulf 
Stream :  all  the  known  facts  tend  to  prove  this.  The 
Indian  Ocean  ellipse  runs  south,  along  the  east  coast  of 
Africa,  and  then  most  of  it  turns  east  and  crosses  the 
southern  part  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  then  turns  north 
again  before  reaching  Australia,  and,  passing  around 
north-west,  and  then  south-west,  through  the  Arabian 
Sea,  again  moves  south  along  the  east  of  Africa.  That 
an  abnormal  current  runs  from  the  Indian  Ocean  around 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  is  unquestioned ;  but  it  must 
not  be  confounded  with  the  great  normal  ellipses  which 
move  in  obedience  to  the  same  natural  law  that  pro- 
duces the  North  Atlantic  Gulf  Stream. 

It  is  fortunate  for  me  that  the  very  latest  observa- 
tions establish  the  fact  that  there  is  a  current  moving 
east  across  the  southern  part  of  both  the  South  Atlan- 
tic and  the  Indian  Oceans. 

Lieutenant  Maury  is  superintendent  of  the  National 
Observatory,  and  has  for  a  long  time  been  engaged  in 
collecting  from  the  reports  of  ship-masters  whatever  im- 
portant facts  they  observed  during  their  voyages.  He 
says,  "The  most  unexpected  discovery  of  all  is  that  of 
the  warm  flow  along  the  west  coast  of  South  Africa, 
its  junction  with  the  Lagullas  current,  called,  higher  up, 
the  Mozambique,  and  then  their  starting  off  as  one 
stream  to  the  southward.  The  prevalent  opinion  used 
6 


62  OUTLINES   OF   GEONOMY. 

4 

to  be  that  the  Lagullas  current,  which  has  its  genesis  in 
the  Red  Sea.  doubled  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and 
then  joined  the  great  equatorial  current  of  the  Atlantic, 
to  feed  the  Gulf  Stream  ;  but  my  excellent  friend,  Lieu- 
tenant Marin  Jansen,  of  the  Dutch  navy,  suggested  that 
this  was  probably  not  the  case.  This  induced  a  special 
investigation,  and  I  found  it  as  he  suggested.  Captain 
N.  B.  Grant,  in  the  admirably  well  kept  log  of  his  voy- 
age from  New  York  to  Australia,  found  this  current 
remarkably  developed.  He  was  astonished  at  the  tem- 
perature of  its  waters,  and  did  not  know  how  to  ac- 
count for  such  a  body  of  warm  water  in  such  a  place. 
Being  in  longitude  fourteen  degrees  east,  and  latitude 
thirty-nine  degrees  south,  he  thus  writes  in  his  abstract 
log:  — 

"  ■  That  there  is  a  current  setting  to  the  eastward 
across  the  South  Atlantic  and  Indian  Ocean  is,  I  be- 
lieve, admitted  by  all  navigators.  The  prevailing 
westerly  winds  seem  to  offer  a  sufficient  ( ? )  reason  for 
the  existence  of  such  a  current,  and  the  almost  constant 
south-east  swell  would  naturally  give  it  a  northerly 
direction.' n 

The  observations  of  Lieutenant  Jansen  exactly  agree 
with  my  views  concerning  the  Lagullas  current ;  that  is 
to  say,  it  is  merely  an  overflow  of  warm  water  from  the 
Indian  Ocean  into  the  South  Atlantic,  which,  after  be- 
ing thus  diverted  from  its  normal  course,  resumes  it 
again  after  it  gets  into  the  South  Atlantic,  and  runs  to 
the  south  and  south-east  to  mingle  with  the  cold  waters 
of  the  antarctic  regions. 

The  current  that  runs  east  across  the  southern  part 


ELLIPTICAL  PATHS   OF  THE   CURRENTS.  63 

of  the  South  Pacific  to  connect  with  what  is  called  the 
Humboldt  current  on  the  west  coast  of  South  America, 
is  commonly  considered  abnormal,  and  attributed  to  the 
winds  ;  and  so,  indeed,  are  all  the  eastern  currents  in  the 
southern  hemisphere ;  but  the  law  of  rotatory  motion 
demands  that  they  should  run  precisely  as  Lieutenant 
Maury's  latest  charts  indicate  that  they  do  run.  That 
the  winds  add  to  the  vigor  of  their  flow  is  very  likely ; 
but  they  would  still  continue  to  flow  in  the  same  direc- 
tion even  if  the  wind  blew  the  other  way.  Who  can 
believe  that  the  Gulf  Stream  could  be  made  constantly 
to  reverse  its  course  by  the  mere  force  of  the  wind, 
when  icebergs  are  annually  seen  to  move  hundreds  of 
miles  against  winds  and  tides,  and  a  surface  current, 
and  only  because  they  are  impelled  by  a  powerful  deep 
current,  which  is  perfectly  protected  from  the  influence 
of  the  winds  ? 

Lieutenant  Maury,  in  his  Physical  Geography  of  the 
Sea,  p.  166,  says,  "  I  have,  I  believe,  discovered  the  ex- 
istence of  a  warm  current  from  the  intertropical  regions 
of  the  Pacific,  midway  between  the  American  coast  and 
the  shore  lines  of  Australia." 

If  this  discovery  is  confirmed  by  future  observers,  as 
I  think  it  will  be,  there  must  also  be  a  deeper  and 
colder  current  a  little  to  the  west  of  Maury's  current, 
which  runs  in  the  opposite  direction.  Maury's  current 
must  be  the  complement  or  western  half  of  an  ellipse 
of  which  Humboldt's  current  is  the  eastern  half. 
Humboldt's  current  runs  from  the  antarctic  coast  north- 
east until  it  strikes  the  west  coast  of  South  America  ; 
it  proceeds  to  the  equator,  and  then  turns  west,  and, 


64  OUTLINES  OP  GEONOMY.- 

according  to  Lieutenant  Maury,  it  does  not  reach  Aus- 
tralia, but  turns  towards  the  south  when  it  gets  about 
half  way  there.  If  this  be  so,  then  there  must  be  two 
ellipses  between  Australia  and  South  America. 

I  have  explained  sufficiently  that  the  natural  course 
of  the  ocean  currents  is  to  move  in  ellipses  whose  num- 
ber, size,  and  form  depend  upon  the  relative  temper- 
ature and  distance  of  the  equator  and  the  poles.  I 
have  also  explained  the  effect  of  the  rotatory  motion  of 
the  earth  in  causing  all  the  normal  currents  of  both 
hemispheres  to  move  in  a  westward  direction  when  at 
or  near  the  equator,  and  in  an  easterly  direction  when 
approaching  either  of  the  poles.  I  have  shown  that 
what  I  denominate  the  normal  currents  are  simply  the 
results  of  the  laws  of  expansion,  condensation,  gravita- 
tion, and  rotation  ;  that  this  is  true,  not  only  of  their 
rapidity,  but  of  their  directions,  their  distances,  and 
their  curves,  and  that  the  same  law  of  equilibrium 
which  produces  the  Gulf  Stream  in  the  North  Atlantic 
Ocean  produces  analogous  circuits  in  every  other 
ocean.  It  follows,  from  the  foregoing,  that  if  we  find  a 
current  actually  proceeding  in  a  direction  contrary  to 
the  normal  currents,  there  must  be  some  special  and 
extraordinary  cause  which  has  operated  to  force  the 
waters  from  their  primitive  course.  Originally  there 
was  nothing  to  prevent  the  currents  from  moving  in 
normal  and  regular  ellipses  in  all  cases  ;  but  when  the 
land  became  elevated  in  some  places,  and  depressed  in 
others,  the  regularity  of  the  currents  was  continually 
liable  to  be  interfered  with.  When  Asia,  Europe,  and 
North  America  became  drained  and  elevated,  the  water 


ELLIPTICAL   PATHS   OF   THE   CURRENTS.  65 

that  formerly  constituted  the  ellipses  that  circulated 
over  them  was  forced  to  circulate  in  the  remaining 
ellipses.  Where  one  of  the  oceanic  ellipses  is  land- 
locked, as  the  Indian  Ocean  is,  an  excess  of  water 
poured  into  it  causes  an  overflow,  such  as  that  which 
takes  place  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  where  an  ab- 
normal current  flows  westward  into  the  South  Atlantic 
from  the  Indian  Ocean. 

If  the  Indian  Ocean  had  several  channels  through 
Asia  and  Europe,  as  it  formerly  had,  with  which  to 
communicate  with  the  Arctic,  there  would  be  no  "  La- 
gullas  current"  intruding  from  the  Indian  Ocean  ellipse 
into  that  of  the  Atlantic  ;  but  after  Asia  was  elevated, 
the  waters  of  the  Arabian  Sea  had  no  means  of  commu- 
nicating with  their  own  natural  polar  regions  in  the 
Arctic,  and  they  therefore  forced  their  way  south 
through  the  Mozambique  Channel,  with  great  rapidity, 
and,  passing  around  Good  Hope,  entered  the  Atlantic, 
and  flowed  north  along  the  western  coast  of  Africa,  in 
company  with  the  normal  South  Atlantic  current,  from 
the  Antarctic  Seas.  The  probability  is,  that  what  is 
called  "  the  Lagullas  Bank,"  which  is  supposed  to 
deflect  the  Mozambique  current  to  the  west,  was  cre- 
ated originally  by  the  normal  current  that  proceeded 
easterly  from  Good  Hope,  and  that  this  bank  was 
modified  by  the  Lagullas  current  when  the  northern 
channels  to  the  Arctic  were  obstructed,  and  the  Ara- 
bian waters  forced  through  the  Mozambique  Channel. 

To  illustrate  :  Suppose  that  the  bed  of  the  North  At- 
lantic should  become  elevated  as  far  to  the  south  as  the 
thirtieth  degree  of  north  latitude,  so  that  railroads  could 
6* 


6Q  OUTLINES    OP    GEONOMY. 

be  built  along  the  northern  shore,  from  Spain  to  Florida, 
via  Bermuda  ;  would  there  not  be  an  enormous  overflow 
of  heated  waters  to  the  south,  which  would  manifest 
itself  in  producing  a  powerful  current  west  around  Cape 
Horn,  analogous  to  the  present  Lagullas  current,  which 
flows  west  around  Good  Hope  ? 

It  appears  that  there  is  annually  an  excess  of  water 
forced  into  the  North  Atlantic,  in  consequence  of  the 
peculiar  land-locked  condition  of  the  Indian  Ocean. 
Besides  this,  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  are  continually 
extending,  and  contracting  the  bounds  of  the  ocean  ; 
the  consequence  is,  that  a  large  quantity  of  water  is 
forced  from  the  southern  hemisphere,  across  the  mid- 
line, into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  from  thence  into  the 
Arctic  Ocean,  as  far  as  Spitzbergen  and  Nova  Zembla. 

I  have  no  idea  That  the  Gulf  Stream  would  extend 
so  far  north,  were  it  not  for  the  overflow  of  the  Indian 
Ocean  and  the  narrowness  of  the  Atlantic.  We  have 
a  proof  of  this  in  the  fact  that  the  North  Pacific  does 
not  extend  beyond  Behring's  Strait.  Why  should  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  extend  its  normal  circulation  farther 
north  than  the  Pacific,  unless  for  the  reasons  here  given  ? 
It  is  further  to  be  observed,  that  the  ancient  North 
American  ellipse* is  nearly  extinct,  and  that  Hudson's 
Sea  and  Baffin's  Bay  are  its  relics.  These  vast  seas 
receive  warm  waters  from  the  Atlantic,  and  perhaps 
some  through  Behring's  Strait ;  and  in  return  they  pour 
a  cold  current  into  the  Atlantic,  to  chill  the  Gulf 
Stream,  and  deflect  it  east  from  the  Banks  of  Newfound- 
land and  the  New  England  coast.  Being  thus  forced 
to  move  more   easterly   than   it  otherwise  would,  the 


ELLIPTICAL  PATHS   OF  THE   CURRENTS.  67 

warm  Gulf  Stream  crosses  to  the  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic,  and  there  separates  into  several  sub-currents, 
or  branches  ;  —  one  moves  along  the  coast  of  Norway 
to  North  Cape;  it  then  turns  south,  touching  Spitzber- 
gen,  and  passes  between  Greenland  and  Iceland.  An- 
other branch  (supposed  by  some  to  be  the  same)  moves 
from  the  North  Atlantic,  by  the  western  coast  of  Green- 
land, to  the  head  of  Baffin's  Bay,  then  crosses  over  to 
the  north-eastern  coast  of  America,  and  returns  to  the 
Atlantic,  where  a  branch  of  it  crowds  itself  between 
the  Labrador  and  New  England  shores  and  the  Gulf 
Stream,  and  manifests  its  power  by  forming  several 
bays,  with  their  mouths  towards  the  north-east,  while 
those  on  the  same  line  of  coast,  which  are  formed  by  the 
Gulf  Stream,  have  their  mouths  towards  the  south- 
east. 

The  Banks  of  Newfoundland  must  be  regarded  as  the 
product  of  the  Gulf  Stream  on  one  side,  and  the  Baffin's 
Bay  current  on  the  other.  It  appears  that  a  subsidence 
has  taken  place  in  the  bed  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  just  south 
of  the  bank  ;  for  on  that  side  it  is  very  steep,  and  on 
the  north  side  the  slope  is  gentle. 

A  process  analogous  to  this  is  going  on  in  the  North 
Pacific,  where  the  warm  stream  from  the  south  contends 
with  the  cold  waters  of  Behring's  Sea,  and  between 
them  the  Aleutian  chain  of  volcanic  islands  is  rising. 
Kamschatka  and  the  Kurile  chain  are  formed  in  the 
same  way  by  the  opposition  of  the  cold  stream  from  the 
Okotsk  Sea  to  the  warm  stream  from  the  south.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  Japan  Sea  and  the  island  chain  at 
the  cast  of  it.    These  islands  in  the  Pacific  are  eminent- 


68  OUTLINES   OF   GEONOMY. 

ly  volcanic,  and  in  this  respect  they  differ  from  New- 
foundland at  present ;  but  I  will  venture  the  prediction 
that  volcanoes  will  yet  rise  and  illuminate  the  ocean 
not  far  from  the  line  marked  out  for  the  transatlantic 
telegraph,  and  the  whole  north-western  coast  of  Eu- 
rope, Portugal,  Britain,  Scandinavia,  and  Iceland  will 
be  racked  with  convulsions  which  will  leave  them  much 
higher,  and  their  centres  farther  from  their  shores,  than 
they  are  at  the  present  time. 

The  northern  ocean  once  flowed  from  the  mountains 
of  China  to  those  of  California,  enclosed  by  a  chain  of 
low  islands  or  submarine  mountains,  which  extended 
from  Behring's  Strait  south-westward  to  India,  then 
west  to  Mexico,  and  then  north-west  to  Behring's  Strait 
again,  constituting  one  vast  compound  ellipse,  which  is 
now  subdivided  into  Asia,  Europe,  the  North  Atlantic, 
and  North  America.  Formerly  all  parts  of  the  north- 
ern tropical  region  were  in  direct  communication  with 
the  Arctic  Ocean,  the  intermediate  land  being  merely 
groups  of  islands  ;  but  gradually  the  Arctic  has  become 
a  solitary  and  frozen  inland  sea,  and  the  tropical  waters 
are  excluded  except  through  the  long,  deep,  and  narrow 
channel  of  the  Atlantic.  As  for  Behring's  Strait,  it  is 
only  about  twenty  miles  wide,  and  has  a  bar  at  its 
entrance,  which  indicates  that  it  is  becoming  entirely 
closed.  Not  only  so,  the  detritus  that  was  wont  to  pass 
through  it  is  now  gathering  near  by,  in  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  and  by  its  weight  raising  the  semicircular  chain 
of  the  Aleutian  volcanic  islands,  to  more  effectually  sep- 
arate the  Arctic  from  the  Pacific  and  the  tropics.  The 
north  part  of  the  Atlantic  is  now  little  more  than  a 


ELLIPTICAL   PATHS   OF   THE   CURRENTS.  69 

channel  of  communication  between  the  Arctic  and  the 
other  oceans.  This  channel  has  been  becoming  narrow- 
er for  many  geologic  ages,  and  will  finally  be  entirely 
closed.  To  be  convinced  of  this,  we  have  only  to  study 
the  positions,  and  what  can  be  learned  of  the  history  of 
the  volcanic  islands  and  shores  which  are  continually 
encroaching  upon  it  in  the  Iceland  Sea.  Norway  and 
Sweden  are  constantly  rising,  especially  in  the  northern 
parts.  The  Faroe  Islands,  between  Britain  and  Iceland, 
abound  in  volcanoes,  which  continue  to  increase  and 
rise,  causing  the  dry  lands  to  expand  and  blaze,  as  if  in 
defiance  of  the  deathly  cold  and  the  terrible  tempests 
which  desolate  the  coasts.  Iceland  itself  is  remarkable 
for  being  the  scene  of  the  most  copious  discharge  of 
lava  of  which  we  have  any  record. 

The  Mediterranean  Sea  is  growing  deeper  and  nar- 
rower. The  detritus  of  its  inlets  is  causing  its  bed  to 
sink,  and  its  volcanic  shores  and  islands  to  rise,  while  a 
bar  is  gathering  at  its  Gibraltar  mouth  —  a  premonitory 
symptom  of  its  final  fate,  which  is,  to  be,  like  the  Cas- 
pian, excluded  from  all  communication  with  the  great 
oceans,  and  left  to  evaporate  down  to  a  deep  salt  lake. 

The  Western  Islands,  in  the  Atlantic,  seem  to  bear 
the  same  relation  to  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar  that  the 
Aleutians  do  to  Behring's  Strait.  It  appears  to  be  a 
general  law  that  volcanic  islands  have  a  tendency  to 
rise  in  the  ocean  opposite  the  mouths  of  inland  seas 
that  were  once  a  part  of  the  ocean.  It  may  be  that 
the  checking  of  the  current  that  flows  from  the  ocean 
inland,  causes  the  gathering  of  detritus  in  the  ocean's 
bed,  nearly  opposite  the  strait  of  the  sea  from  which  it 


70  OUTLINES    OF   GEONOMY. 

is  now  excluded.  Does  not  this  explanation  apply  to 
the  volcanoes  of  the  Iceland  Sea  the  Kurile  chain, 
and  the  Isthmuses  of  Panama,  Suez,  and  the  submarine 
isthmus  of  which  Java  is  a  part  ? 

It  is  plain,  upon  reading  Lieutenant  Maury's  book, 
that  he  clearly  perceived  the  laws  of  the  ocean  currents, 
so  far  as  they  relate  to  the  North  Atlantic  ;  and  if  he 
does  not  apply  the  same  rules  to  the  other  oceans, 
neither  does  he  advance  any  thing  in  opposition  to  the 
views  which  I  am  presenting.  He  says,  "We  may 
assume  it  as  a  law,  that  the  natural  tendency  of  all 
currents  in  the  sea,  like  the  tendency  of  all  projectiles 
through  the  air,  is  to  describe  their  curves  of  flight 
in  the  planes  of  great  circles." 

"  It  appears  that  the  course  of  the  Gulf  Stream  is 
fixed  and  prescribed  by  exactly  the  same  laws  that 
require  the  planets  to  revolve  in  orbits,  the  planes  of 
which  shall  pass  through  the  centre  of  the  sun,  and 
that  were  the  Nantucket  Shoals  not  in  existence,  it 
could  not  pursue  a  more  direct  route." 

Precisely  so  ;  and  the  courses  of  all  ocean  streams 
are  subject  to  the  same  fixed  laws  that  the  Gulf  Stream 
i3  ;  and  were  the  land  all  on  a  level  with  the  bottom  of 
the  ocean,  the  normal  ocean  currents  would  move  in 
ellipses  as  they  do  now,  but  there  would  be  only  three 
ellipses  in  each  hemisphere. 

Mr.  Keith  Johnson,  of  Edinburgh,  in  his  beautiful 
work  on  Physical  Geography,  has  a  map  on  which  he 
represents  the  area  disturbed  by  the  great  earthquake 
which  destroyed  Lisbon  ;  and  it  is  remarkable  that  the 
lines  which  he  has  drawn  almost  exactly  coincide  with 


ELLIPTICAL  PATHS   OF   THE   CURRENTS.  71 

those  which  I  have  made  to  represent  the  North  Atlantic 
ellipse.  In  other  words,  the  earthquake  was  produced 
by  a  depression  of  the  whole  area  included  in  the  North 
Atlantic  ellipse,  or  Gulf  Stream.  Another  earthquake 
is  represented  on  the  same  map  as  having  also  dis- 
turbed an  area  of  an  elliptical  form,  but  it  did  not 
extend  more  than  half  as  far  north.  It  appears  to  me 
that  this  map,  in  connection  with  the  geonomic  theory, 
amounts  almost  to  a  demonstration  that  those  earth- 
quakes were  produced  by  the  special  depression  of  this 
particular  ellipse.  I  have  no  doubt  that  if  a  careful 
system  of  soundings  had  been  made  before  the  earth- 
quake, and  another  afterwards,  the  places  could  have 
been  ascertained  with  precision  where  the  greatest  de- 
pressions and  elevations  or.  eruptions  had  taken  place  ; 
and  though  the  idea  may  excite  a  smile,  a  method  like 
this  may  yet  be  contrived  of  gauging  the  loss  of  lava 
from  the  internal  and  the  gain  upon  the  external  parts 
of  the  earth. 

Mathematics  alone  can  never  originate  a  new  sci- 
ence ;  but  neither  can  any  natural  science  be  much 
advanced  until  brought  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
weights  and  measures.  Mathematics  presides  in  the 
supreme  court  of  the  sciences,  and  holds  the  scales  of 
equity  with  an  impartial  hand.  It  does  not  conde- 
scend to  collect  and  arrange  facts  nor  to  frame  hypothe- 
ses ;  but  when  they  are  produced,  it  sits  in  judgment  and 
decides  upon  their  merits  in  accordance  with  eternal 
laws  and  with  inexorable  justice. 

Geonomy  is  of  such  a  nature  as  to  be  especially  liable 
to  be  brought  to  this  severe  test ;  it  cannot  escape  from 


72  OUTLINES   OF   GEONOMY. 

the  scrutiny  of  a  tribunal  from  which  there  can  be  no 
appeal.  Geonomy  is  a  question  of  quantity.  It  relates 
to  the  rising  and  falling  of  the  external  parts  of  the 
earth  and  of  the  other  planets,  by  an  unvarying  rule  ; 
and  it  is  absolutely  true,  or  its  falsity  can  be  demon- 
strated by  circles  and  ellipses,  angles  and  numerical 
figures,  whose  very  essence  is  truth. 


GEOLOGY.  73 


SECTION    IV. 

SUCCESSION  OF  GEOLOGICAL  FORMATIONS  AND  THEIR 
RELATION   TO  MOUNTAIN  RANGES. 

There  are  few  geologists,  if  any,  who  do  not  now 
admit  that  granite  forms  the  foundation  of  the  earth's 
crust,  and  that  below  it  is  a  fluid  mass  of  lava,  the 
movements  of  which  occasionally  elevate  the  crust ; 
though  no  one  has  given  a  satisfactory  explanation  of 
the  causes  that  produce  and  direct  the  elevating  move- 
ments. 

Granite*  or  consolidated  lava,  is  not  only  at  the 
foundation  of  all  the  rocky  formations,  so  as  to  consti- 
tute the  true  crust  of  the  earth,  but  it  is  frequently 
poured  forth  by  volcanoes,  so  as  to  occupy  situations 
above  some  of  the  stratified  rocks,  in  such  a  way  as  to 
leave  us  in  doubt  whether  the  granite  rocks,  in  a  par- 
ticular place,  are  a  part  of  the  original  crust,  or  the 
product  of  comparatively  modern  volcanoes. 

All  the  rocks  above  granite  were  deposited  from 
water  in  strata,  and  are  therefore  called  stratified.  The 
rock  which  is  generally  found  immediately  above  gran- 
ite is  called  gneiss,  and  is  composed  of  fragments  of 
granite,  broken    and  worn   by   attrition   against   each 


*  "  That  there  is  a  basis  of  crystallized  granite  rocks  beneath  all  the  stra- 
ta, in  all  countries,  cutting  off  and  limiting  our  observations,  and  hiding 
whatever  wonders  are  concealed  below,  is  now  universally  admitted."  — 
Philips. 


74  OUTLINES   OP  GEONOMY. 

other  and  against  the  surface  of  the  earth,  by  the  move- 
ments of  the  primitive  ocean. 

Gneiss  is  peculiar  in  several  respects.  1.  It  contains 
no  large  blocks  of  granite,  and  but  few  other  volcanic 
products  ;  thus  indicating  that  volcanoes  had  not  com- 
menced their  labors  at  that  early  age  of  the  world. 
2.  It  contains  in  its  composition  less  of  the  heavier  me- 
tallic substances  than  the  higher  formations  do  ;  though 
it  is  frequently  pierced  by  veins  of  metal  which  have 
passed  through  it  on  their  way  upward.  3.  It  contains 
no  evidence  of  the  existence  of  organic  beings.  In 
this  last  respect  it  agrees  with  several  formations  im- 
mediately above  it.  The  reasonable  conclusion  from 
these  facts  is,  that  neither  volcanoes,  mountains,  nor 
organized  beings  of  any  kind  had  been  instituted  at  the 
time  that  this  lowest  stratified  rock  was  formed.  Gneiss, 
original^,  was  laid  upon  a  granite  floor  at  the  bottom 
of  an  ocean  which  had  no  bounds,  and  above  whose  sur- 
face not  a  single  island  had  yet  reared  its  crest. 

The  waters  were  probably  nowhere  less  than  half  a 
mile  in  depth,  and  were  of  nearly  a  uniform  tempera- 
ture from  the  equator  to  the  poles. 

The  next  higher  formation  was  that  which  is  princi- 
pally composed  of  mica  schist  —  a  species  of  coarse,  con- 
torted slate-like  rock,  in  which  mica  predominates.  It 
appears  to  be  constituted  of  some  of  the  same  elements 
as  gneiss,  but  formed  under  different  circumstances. 
It  is  probably  the  result  of  the  attrition  of  granite 
and  gneiss,  which  took  place  while  the  waters  of  the 
ocean  were  hot,  and  perhaps  boiling  ;  for  it  is  com- 
posed of  laminae  or  thin  layers  of  mica,  mingled  with 


GEOLOGY.  75 

pebbles  and  sediment,  and  bent  into  short,  irregular 
curves,  in  a  way  that  indicates  a  violent  agitation  of 
the  waters  in  which  it  was  deposited.  In  the  lower 
portions  of  this  formation  there  is  evidence  of  some 
slight  volcanic  action ;  for  small  masses  are  frequent 
which  contain  iron  and  other  metals,  so  heavy  that  they 
must  have  come  from  below  the  crust.  In  the  higher 
parts  of  the  formation  heavy  metals  become  more  and 
more  abundant,  and  there  are  also  found  other  evidences 
of  vigorous  convulsions. 

Above  the  mica  schist  are  more  regularly  formed 
slates  and  sandstones,  which  seem  to  be  produced  by  a 
greater  degree  of  attrition  and  subdivision  of  particles, 
worn  or  dissolved  from  the  lower  rocks,  and  after  being 
deposited,  were  subjected  to  the  pressure  of  the  super- 
incumbent ocean.  Most  of  these  slates  and  sandstones 
are  blue,  or  brown,  but  a  very  few  of  them  are  red, 
indicating  the  presence  of  a  small  quantity  of  iron. 

After  the  land  had  been  raised  to  a  sufficient  height, 
and  the  agitation  of  the  ocean  and  the  atmosphere 
had  produced  the  requisite  combinations,  vegetable 
and  animal  life  appeared  in  their  lowest  and  simplest 
possible  forms.  This  was  the  commencement  of  what 
is  called  the  protozoic  or  first  animal  formations. 
Geologists,  at  the  present  day,  admit  that  the  best,  if 
not  the  only  guide  which  they  possess  to  the  relative 
ages  of  the  stratified  rocks,  is  the  character  of  the  or- 
ganic remains  which  they  severally  contain.  It  is 
found  that  the  organisms,  both  vegetable  and  animal, 
are  progressively  superior  and  more  complicated,  from 
the  lower  to  the  higher  stratified  formations. 


76  OUTLINES   OF   GEOXOMY. 

The  next  higher  formation  is  the  old  red  sandstone 
system  of  rocks,  which  is  very  extensive,  and  demon- 
strates that,  between  the  deposition  of  the  gneiss  and 
the  commencement  of  the  old  red,  there  must  have  been 
a  large  quantity  of  iron  ejected  from  beneath  the  granite. 

Next  above  the  old  red  sandstone  is  the  carboniferous 
formation  ;  so  called  on  account  of  the  immense  quan- 
tity of  carbonic  rocks  which  it  contains,  especially  the 
carbonates  of  lime,  which  were  deposited  from  water  in 
a  way  which  is  yet  undetermined. 

In  the  midst  of  these  rocks  are  the  coal  measures,  con- 
sisting of  the  immense  beds  of  coal  which  now  furnish 
fuel  to  mankind.  The  limestone  formations  differ  in 
several  important  respects  from  any  which  had  preceded 
them.  Instead  of  being  constituted  of  the  detritus 
worn  from  other  previously  formed  rocks,  they  are  com- 
posed of  lime  which  had  probably  been  dissolved  in 
water  that  contained  carbonic  acid.  It  is  well  known 
that  hot  water  is  capable  of  holding  a  much  smaller 
quantity  of  lime  in  solution  than  cold  water  can.  When, 
therefore,  during  the  upward  progress  of  the  land,  the 
wraters  became  warmer  in  some  places  than  others,  the 
lime  was  precipitated  to  the  bottom  in  some  localities, 
and  formed  the  carboniferous  limestone.  It  is  found  in 
the  largest  quantities  around  the  bases  of  the  older 
mountains  ;  owing  perhaps  to  the  fact  that  those  elevat- 
ed places  were  generally  warmer  than  those  in  deeper 
situations,  and  their  higher  temperature  caused  the  es- 
cape of  a  part  of  the  carbonic  acid,  and  a  precipitation 
of  lime  to  take  place  against  their  sides.  It  is  believed 
that  the  most  extensive  connected  formations  on  the 


GEOLOGY.  77 

present  dry  land  are  those  of  the  mountain  limestones. 
The  coal  measures  were  produced  by  the  combinations 
and  condensations  from  the  atmosphere  and  water  of 
hydrogen  and  carbonic  acid  in  the  form  of  vegetable 
productions.  This  vegetable  coal  formation  took  place 
soon  after  groups  of  islands  had  risen  above  the  surface 
of  the  sea.*  At  that  time  carbonic  acid  was  much 
more  abundant,  both  in  the  atmosphere  and  the  ocean, 
than  it  is  now.  The  process  which  produced  the  car- 
boniferous rocks  purified  the  water  of  an  immense  quan- 
tity of  lime,  magnesia,  sulphur,  chlorine,  and  silex,  which 
it  previously  held  in  solution.  It  also  purified  the  air 
of  a  vast  amount  of  carbonic,  acid.  It  was  not  until 
after  this  period  commenced  that  any  land  animals  ex- 
isted to  breathe  the  air  ;  nor  was  it  until  after  this  pe- 
riod closed  that  animals  were  created  that  were  above 
the  race  of  low,  crawling  reptiles. 

The  next  higher  mass  of  rocks  is  called  the  permian 
system,  or  lower  division  of  what  is  sometimes  called 
the  new  red  sandstone  formation.!  The  carboniferous  pe- 
riod was  followed  and  closed  by  important  elevations  of 

*  A  wide  expanse  of  ocean,  interspersed  with  islands,  seems  to  have  per- 
vaded the  northern  hemisphere  at  the  periods  when  the  transition  and  car- 
boniferous rocks  were  formed,  and  the  temperature  was  then  hottest  and 
most  uniform.  Subsequent  modifications  of  climate  accompanied  the  depo= 
sition  of  the  secondary  formations,  when  repeated  changes  were  effected  in 
the  physical  geography  of  our  northern  latitudes.  Lastly,  the  refrigera- 
tion became  most  decided,  and  the  climate  most  nearly  assimilated  to  that 
now  enjoyed,  when  the  lands  in  Europe  and  Northern  Asia  had  attained 
their  full  extension,  and  the  mountain  chains  their  actual  height.  —  LtelL. 

f  The  prevalent  red  color  of  the  saliferous  system  is  of  itself  a  circum- 
stance of  great  interest,  but  of  unknown  origin.  —  Philips. 

7* 


78  OUTLINES   OP   GEONOMY. 

the  land,  and  the  formation  of  a  scries  of  rocks  which 
indicated  once  more  the  intimate  connection  between 
the  red  oxide  of  iron,  the  volcanic  eruptions,  the  moun- 
tain elevations,  and  the  progress  of  organisms.  As  the 
dry  land  increased,  the  geological  formations  partook 
more  and  more  of  a  fresh  water  character,  and  abound- 
ed more  in  remains  of  land  plants. 

The  permian  system  is  mostly  constituted  of  red  sand- 
stones, which  are  composed  of  materials  torn  from  the 
bed  of  the  ocean,  alternating  with  magnesian  limestones 
precipitated  from  solution  in  water  in  a  way  which  lias 
not  been  clearly  explained  by  geological  chemists,  but 
probably  the  temperature  had  much  to  do  with  it. 

Next  higher  is  the  saliferous  triasic,  or  higher  new 
red  sandstone  formation,  which  is  mostly  distinguished 
by  its  containing  a  large  quantity  of  common  salt,  and 
also  plaster  Paris  and  magnesia.  This  indicates  that 
extensive  lakes  had  been  elevated  above  the  level  of  the 
sea,  something  as  the  salt  lake  of  Utah  is  now,  and  that 
the  waters  had  been  forced  by  evaporation  to  give  up 
their  solutions  to  the  earth  again  from  whence  they  had 
been  previously  derived. 

Above  the  saliferous  is  the  odlUiq  formation,  so  called 
on  account  of  the  egg-shaped  stones  which  it  contains. 
It  is  a  more  variously  compounded  rock  than  any  of  the 
preceding  ;  its  elements  combining  in  a  greater  degree 
the  characters  of  land  and  sea,  and  showing  that  it  was 
formed  near  the  shores  of  the  ancient  island  continents. 
Being  derived  mostly  from  the  dry  land,  it  has  much 
less  of  the  oxide  of  iron  diffused  through  it  than  the 
formations  immediately  below  it  have.     There  are  sev- 


GEOLOGY.  79 

eral  subdivisions  of  the  oolitic  rocks,  the  lowest  of 
which  is  called  the  lias  formation.  Next  higher  is  the 
cretaceous,  or  chalk  formation,  which  is  still  more  de- 
cidedly marked  by  circumstances  that  indicate  an  inti- 
mate relation  to  the  dry  land  in  the  vicinity. 

Following  the  chalk  comes  the  tertiary  formation, 
which  Mr.  Lyell  divides  into  the  eocene,  miocene,  and  pli- 
ocene, and  then  subdivides  each  of  these.  It  is  remarka- 
ble for  containing  the  remains  of  a  great  number  of  land 
animals  analogous  to  those  now  existing.  The  investi- 
gations and  subdivisions  that  have  been  made  of  this 
system  by  the  labors  of  Lyell  and  others  all  confirm  the 
fact  that  the  animal  remains,  from  the  lowest  part  of  the 
formation  to  the  highest,  indicate  a  gradually  improving 
condition  of  the  earth,  fitting  it  for  the  habitation  of 
animals  that  generate  warmth  within  their  own  bodies 
by  respiration,  so  as  to  be  less  dependent  upon  the 
warmth  imparted  by  the  external  atmosphere;  The 
general  forms  of  the  great  continents  existed  then  as 
row,  with  this  difference,  that  more  than  one  half  of  the 
present  dry  land,  including  nearly  all  the  present  low- 
lands, was  then  beneath  the  sea.* 

Mr.  Lyell  makes  the  following  remarks  concerning 
the  relation  of  the  tertiary  to  physical  geography :  — 

"About  two  thirds  of  the  present  European  lands 
have  emerged  since  the  earliest  of  these  tertiary  groups 
originated." 

"Brocci  inferred  that  the  Apennines  were  elevated 
several  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  Mediterra- 

*  "  Various  parts  of  the  British  Islands  were  dry  land,  while  most  of  the 
continent  of  Europe  was  yet  below  the  ancient  ocean."  — Somerville. 


80  OUTLINES  OF  GEONOMY. 

nean  before  the  deposition  of  the  recent  sub-Apennine 
beds  which  flank  them  on  either  side." 

The  central  and  higher  ridges  of  the  Alps  are,  ac- 
cording to  Mr.  Lyell,  "  encircled  by  a  great  zone  of  ter- 
tiary rocks  of  different  ages,  both  on  their  southern 
flank  towards  the  plains  of  the  Po,  and  on  the  side  of 
Switzerland  and  Austria,  and  at  their  eastern  termina- 
tions towards  Styria  and  Hungary.  This  tertiary  zone 
marks  the  position  of  former  seas  or  gulfs,  like  the 
Adriatic  which  were  many  thousand  feet  deep.  These 
marine  tertiary  strata  have  been  raised  to  the  height  of 
from  two  thousand  to  four  thousand  feet.  The  older 
tertiary  groups  generally  rise  to  the  greatest  heights, 
and  form  interior  zones  nearest  to  the  central  ridges  of 
the  Alps." 

"  The  Pyrenees,  also,  have  acquired  their  present  alti- 
tude, which  in  Mount  Perdu  exceeds  eleven  thousand 
feet,  since  the  deposition  of  some  of  the  newer  members 
of  our  secondary  series." 

"  The  Jura  owes  a  great  part  of  its  present  elevation 
to  subterranean  convulsions  which  happened  after  the 
deposition  of  certain  tertiary  groups." 

"  The  former  connection  of  the  White  Sea  and  the 
Gulf  of  Finland  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  a  broad  band 
of  tertiary  strata  extends  throughout  part  of  the  inter- 
vening space." 

"  I#believe  that  since  the  commencement  of  the  ter- 
tiary period,  the  dry  land  in  the  northern  hemisphere 
has  been  continually  on  the  increase.  The  Alps  have 
acquired  an  altitude  of  from  two  thousand  to  four  thou- 
sand feet,  and  even  in  some  places  still  more  ;  and  the 


GEOLOGY.  81 


Apennines  owe  considerable  part  of  their  height  (from 
one  thousand  to  two  thousand  feet)  to  subterranean 
convulsions  which  have  happened  within  the  tertiary 
epoch." 

"  The  great  lowland  of  Siberia,  lying  chiefly  between 
the  latitudes  fifty-five  and  seventy-five  degrees  north, 
(an  area  nearly  equal  to  all  Europe,)  is  covered  for  the 
most  part  by  marine  strata,  which,  from  the  account 
given  by  Pallas  and  other  writers,  may  be  considered 
as  of  tertiary  formation." 

Between  the  present  period  and  the  tertiary  was  de- 
posited the  drift  formation.  No  geological  period  has 
been  the  subject  of  so  much  learned  discussion  as  that 
which  is  known  as  the  glacial  or  drift  period.  The  fact 
seems  to  be,  that  near  the  close  of  the  tertiary  period, 
and  just  before  the  commencement  of  the  modern  allu- 
vial formations,  some  cause  hitherto  unexplained  began 
to  operate  to  convey  large  quantities  of  gravel,  and 
also  large  rocks,  called  bowlders,  from  the  north  and 
north-west  to  the  south  and  south-east,  and  scatter  them 
over  the  surface  of  so  much  of  the  earth,  in  most  of  the 
temperate  regions,  as  was  covered  by  the  sea.  These 
gravelly  and  rocky  deposits  from  water  differ  from  all 
others  in  not  being  stratified,  and  in  not  generally  con- 
taining organic  remains  which  belong  in  the  climate 
where  the  drift  is  found.  They  were  not  deposited  in 
sediment  quietly,  as  most  of  the  stratified  rocks  were, 
but  were  evidently  borne  violently  along  in  mass  by 
some  powerful  force. 

It  is  now  generally  believed  that  water  and  ice  were 
both  agents  in  producing  the  drift ;  but  no  satisfactory 


82  OUTLINES   OF  GEONOMY. 

explanation  has  yet  been  made  concerning  the  causes 
which  set  the  water  and  ice  in  motion.  Perhaps  the 
most  plausible  suggestion  is  that  when  the  polar  regions 
became  cold  enough  to  produce  icebergs,  the  Arctic 
Ocean  was  an  extensive  archipelago,  and  the  northern 
temperate  regions  were  mostly  covered  by  the  sea  ;  this 
being  the  case,  each  season  would  send  a  large  crop  of 
icebergs  loaded  with  bowlders  southward,  drifted  by 
the  ocean  currents.  This  process  doubtless  continued 
until  the  continents  were  so  far  elevated  that  the  drift 
could  not  pass  over  them  ;  but  even  now  a  similar  pro- 
cess is  taking  place  in  the  Atlantic,  and  bowlders  and 
drift  are  being  scattered  over  the  banks  of  Newfound- 
land which  will  ultimately  be  raised  and  exhibit  appear- 
ances similar  to  those  presented  by  the  fields  of  New 
England  and  of  Northern  Europe. 

The  subdivisions  and  classifications  made  by  the  sys- 
tematic geologists  are  at  present  very  unsatisfactory,  and 
indicate  the  want  of  more  knowledge  concerning  the 
causes  which  produced  geological  phenomena.  I  can- 
not help  expressing  the  hope  that  the  principles  here 
announced  will  be  instrumental  in  giving  a  new  impulse 
to  this  noble  science,  by  furnishing  new  means  of  in- 
vestigation, and  indicating  a  rational  mode  of  explain- 
ing many  things  which  have  appeared  mysterious. 

Organic  Progress. 

It  has  been  a  prevailing  opinion  that  the  progress  of 
organized  beings  in  structure  and  intelligence  has  been 
accompanied  by  a  simultaneous  progress  of  the  whole 


GEOLOGY.  83 

earth  to  a  cooler  and  more  modern  condition  —  that,  in 
fact,  the  organic  progress  is  evidence  of  terrestrial 
progress.  But  when  we  reflect  that  three  hundred  feet 
of  elevation  has  an  effect  upon  climate  equal  to  a  re- 
moval one  degree  towards  the  pole,  —  when,  in  addition 
to  this,  we  ascertain  that  the  geological  formations, 
which  have  been  examined,  were,  in  most  cases,  sub- 
jected to  the  elevating  process  from  the  time  of  the 
lowest  depositions  to  the  highest,  —  we  shall  perceive 
that  the  advance  in  the  organic  character  of  the  re- 
mains found  in  the  formations  is  not  of  itself  a  proof 
of  the  progress  of  the  whole  earth  towards  a  more 
perfect  state,  but  only  of  a  local  advance  to  a  cooler 
region  and  a  higher  and  rarer  atmosphere. 

That  the  whole  earth  has  gradually  progressed  from 
a  liquid  state,  and  become  gradually  condensed  and 
cooled  to  its  present  condition,  there  are  good  reasons 
for  believing  ;  but  had  it  not  been  for  the  inequalities 
which  have  been  produced  by  the  depression  of  some 
parts  and  the  elevation  of  others,  it  is  certain  that  the 
ocean  would  now  cover  the  whole  earth  :  none  but 
aquatic  animals  and  plants  would  exist,  and  only  the 
lower  species  even  of  these.  The  ocean,  being  of  an 
equal  depth,  would  be  of  nearly  an  equal  temperature 
in  all  its  parts.  The  heat  of  the  tropics  and  the  cold  of 
the  poles  would  so  modify  each  other  that  it  is  question- 
able whether  any  ice  would  be  found  out  'of  the  polar 
circles. 

Assuming  that  the  surface  of  the  earth  was  at  one 
time  too  warm  to  admit  of  organic  existence,  as  geol- 
ogy appears  to  demonstrate  that  it  was,-it  must  be  ob- 


8-1  OUTLINES   OF   GEONOMY. 

vious  that  the  elevation  of  some  parts  of  the  ocean's 
bed  would  enable  those  parts  to  sooner  become  the 
nurseries,  of  organic  forms,  while  the  lower  parts 
would  still  remain  uninhabited.  If,  afterwards,  the 
same  parts  were  raised  again  to  a  still  higher  level, 
they  would  be  rendered  capable  of  sustaining  a  higher 
class  of  beings.  If,  many  ages  after  thus  being  re- 
peatedly elevated  and  peopled  with  a  succession  of 
adapted  organisms,  this  spot  should  be  examined  by 
some  geologist,  he  might  infer  that  the  whole  earth 
must  have  gradually  cooled  and  advanced  in  its  organic 
conditions  in  the  order  and  to  the  degree  indicated  by 
these  remains,  when,  in  fact,  the  earth,  as  a  whole,  during 
the  same  time,  had  not  advanced  in  a  perceptible  degree. 
Suppose  that,  after  the  formation  just  described  had 
been  made  and  finished,  another  spot,  at  a  distance  from 
it,  had  been  repeatedly  elevated  and  inhabited  in  the 
same  manner,  and  in  subsequent  ages  examined  by  the 
same  geologist ;  if  similarity  of  organic  remains  is  to  be 
considered  sufficient  proof  of  contemporaneous  exist- 
ence, the  geologist,  in  this  case,  would  be  entirely  mis- 
led. To  obviate  this  source  of  error,  it  will  be  well  to 
consider  whether  there  is  any  method  of  learning  the 
relative  ages  of  the  various  mountains  which  are  distant 
from  each  other.  If  it  should  be  rendered  probable  by 
further  investigation,  as  I  think  it  will,  that  the  eleva- 
tions commenced  at  the  north-east,*  in  the  polar  regions, 
and  then  proceeded  in  a  south-western  direction,  we 

*  "The  division  of  the  animal  and  vegetable  creation  into  geographical 
districts  has  been  contemporaneous  with  the  rise  of  land."  —  Somerville. 


GEOLOGY.  85 

shall  be  able  to  combine  a  knowledge  of  the  relative 
ages  of  the  elevations  with  those  of  the  formations,  and 
thus  improve  our  geological  calendar. 

After  carefully  reviewing  all  the  geological  forma- 
tions and  their  order  of  deposition  in  connection  with 
the  theory  of  the  elevation  of  the  land  by  the  pressure 
and  sinking  of  strata,  we  shall  find  that  the  whole  sub- 
ject will  be  greatly  simplified  by  regarding  the  thinnest 
portions  of  the  lowest  formations  as  having  been  the  first 
raised  above  the  sea,  and  the  next  formation  as  being 
deposited  near  the  shores  or  borders  of  the  first  eleva- 
tion, so  as  to  tend,  by  its  subsidence,  to  elevate  it  still 
more.  As  land  rose  higher,  it  carried  up  with  it  a 
portion  (generally  the  thinnest)  of  the  next  lower  forma- 
tion ;  at  a  third  elevatory  impulse  a  third  formation 
was  raised,  and  so  on  until  the  continents  assumed  their 
present  outlines,  and  the  geological  formations  their 
present  arrangements. 

This  view  of  the  matter  shows  why  it  is  that  each  ' 
formation  appears  to  have  been  closed  by  convulsions  ; 
for  they  raised  some  part  of  the  formations  above  the 
reach  of  further  deposits  of  a  similar  character,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  qualified  the  locality  for  the  reception  or 
generation  of  new  and  higher  organic  forms. 

I  was  first  led  to  the  novel  conclusions,  published  in 
these  pages,  by  observing  that  the  directions  of  the  prin- 
cipal mountain  chains,  and  also  their  curves,  correspond 
with  the  directions  which  the  ocean  currents  must  nat- 
urally have  pursued  when  the  land  was  submerged  be- 
neath the  sea.  Reasoning  from  the  known  to  the  un- 
known, I  inferred  that  the  Gulf  Stream,  which  certainly 
8 


86  OUTLINES  OF  GEONOMY. 

runs  in  an  irregular  ellipse,  is  not  governed  by  dif- 
ferent laws  from  those  which  regulate  the  other  ocean 
currents,  and  therefore  they  must  all  tend  to  run  in 
similar  elliptical  directions  ;  and,  as  the  laws  of  nature 
are  the  same  in  all  ages  of  the  world,  the  present  dry 
lands  were  once  acted  upon  by  the  ocean  currents,  just 
as  the  bed  of  the  ocean  is  now.  When  to  this  I  added 
the  fact  that  the  geological  strata  are  laid  in  ranges 
which  are  parallel  to  the  mountains,  it  only  remained 
for  me  to  conclude  that  the  subsidence  of  the  heaviest 
strata  caused  the  elevation  of  the  highest  mountains, 
and  the  geonomic  theory  was  complete. 

Geology  affords  no  evidence  that  there  were  moun- 
tains in  existence  before  the  deposition  of  the  stratified 
rocks.  Surely  all  the  commonly  supposed  causes  of 
volcanic  excitement  existed  then,  as  now,  in  full  vigor. 
This  fact,  when  admitted,  fs  alone  presumptive  evidence, 
that  the  subsidence  of  the  strata  in  one  place  caused 
their  elevation  in  another. 

It  explains  why  we  have  no  mountains  of  mere  gran- 
ite, with  horizontal  stratified  rocks  at  their  bases,  and 
why  we  have  no  mountains  of  the  highest  class,  which 
are  encased  in  gneiss  and  primary  slate  only. 

The  first  stratified  deposits  from  the  waters  of  the 
primitive  ocean  produced  a  low  class  of  elevations  ; 
subsequent  deposits,  in  many  instances,  raised  those 
same  mountains  still  higher  by  causing  a  greater  degree 
of  subsidence,  while  other  mountains  remained  in  their 
original  lowliness.  Is  it  to  be  believed  that  the  causes 
of  volcanic  eruptions  slumbered  quietly  in  the  deep 
bosom  of  the  young   earth,  while  the   granite  crust 


GEOLOGY.  87 

formed  more  than  a  mile  thick  over  the  liquid  lava,  and 
the  ocean  of  hot  waters  rolled  tumultuously  above  this 
new  crust  ?  What  prevented  the  subterranean  ocean  of 
lava  from  sending  up  some  permanent  volcanic  signs  of 
its  existence  for  our  present  instruction? 

If,  as  some  suppose,  steam  is  the  cause  of  volcanoes, 
did  it  not  exist  then  in  the  greatest  quantities?  Did 
not  internal  heat  exist  then  ?  Did  not  the  attraction 
of  the  moon  and  the  heat  of  the  sun  — in  a  word,  did 
not  all  the  supposed  causes  of  volcanic  disturbance  exist, 
except  the  weight  of  the  stratified  deposits?  Profess- 
or Philips  says  that  the  principal  convulsions  of  the 
earth  happened,  1.  Immediately  after  the  deposition  of 
the  Silurian,  or  lowest  stratified  formation  ;  2.  Immedi- 
ately after  the  accumulation  of  the  coal  system ;  3.  Af- 
ter the  deposition  of  the  oolitic  rocks  ;  4.  After  the 
deposition  of  the  chalk  ;  5.  After  the  formation  of  the 
tertiary  system. 

In  this  brief  statement,  the  veteran  English  geolo- 
gist gives  a  history  of  the  principal  geological  forma- 
tions, in  the  very  language  required  by  the  geonomic 
theory.  He  makes  five  grand  periods  of  stratified 
formation,  each  of  which  is  followed  by  a  convulsion  and 
an  additional  upheaval  of  the  land.  His  extensive  and 
life-long  experience  has  impressed  upon  his  mind,  as  it 
has  upon  all  practical  geologists,  that  each  convulsion 
and  upheaval,  which  has  left  a  monument  of  its  power, 
took  place  immediately  after  the  deposition  of  a  great 
formation. 

The  following  is  the  almost  prophetic  language  used 
by  Professor  Philips  :  — 


88  '    OUTLINES   OF   GEONOMY. 


"  Principal  Epochs  of  Convulsion.  —  By  pursuing  this 
investigation  in  different  situations,  we  find  that  these 
internal  movements,  or  convulsions,  happened  at  inter- 
vals during  the  whole  period  of  time  occupied  in  the 
deposition  of  the  strata.     Some  of  the  most  prevalent 
and  remarkable  cases  of  dislocation  and  unconformity 
are,  however,  observable  :  1.  Immediately  after  the  dep- 
osition of  the  silurian  series  ;  2.  After  the  accumula- 
tion of  the  coal  system  ;  3.  After  the  deposition  of  the 
oolitic  rocks  ;    4.  After  the   deposition  of  the   chalk  ; 
and,  5.  One  of  the  most  recent,  probably,  of  all,  after 
the  completion  of  almost  all  the  formations  above  the 
chalk.     It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  all,  even  of  these 
principal   cases   of  dislocation,  can   be   recognized   in 
every  country  ;  on  the  contrary,  the  subterranean  forces 
appear  frequently  to  have  shifted  their  points  of  action. 
We  shall  have   occasion    to  show,  while  speaking  of 
the  organic  remains,  that  there  is  sometimes  observed  a 
singular  harmony  between  these  periods  of  extraordina- 
ry internal  disturbance  and  the  several  epochs  when  the 
different  races  of  animals  and  plants  came  into  exist- 
ence ;  and  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose   that  in 
this  manner  it  may  be  hereafter  found  possible  to  estab- 
lish such  a  relation  between  the  internal  and  external 
conditions  of  the  earth,  as  to  afford  the  greatest  assist- 
ance towards  defining  the  agencies  which  have  produced 
changes  so  extensive  and  repeated  in  both."  —  Philips's 
Manual  of  Geology,  page  36,  (1855.) 

We  have  mountains  with  only  Cambrian  "and  silurian 
rocks  tilted  around  their  bases,  but  none  of  these  are 
very  high  ;  they  were  raised  by  the  subsidence  of  the 


GEOLOGY.  89 

earliest  formations.  We  have  other  mountains  with 
Silurian  and  carboniferous  rocks  dipping  around  them  ; 
they  are  higher,  but  not  equal  in  elevation  to  those  that 
in  addition  have  the  chalk  and  tertiary  formations  in- 
clining upon  their  sides.  The  highest  mountains  are 
those  that  have  been  more  or  less  elevated  in  modem 
times.  All  high  mountains  bear  evidence  of  being 
raised  at  several  different  epochs  ;  as  if  one  formation 
subsided  and  forced  them  up  to  a  certain  point,  and 
then  another  and  another  superadded  formation  caused 
a  further  subsidence  in  the  same  locality,  which  raised 
the  same  mountains  to  their  present  height.  I  kn#w  of 
no  other  theory  by  which  these  successive  upheavals  of 
the  same  places  have  been  or  can  be  accounted  for,  even 
by  coDJecture,  though  it  seems  to  me  that  nothing  can  be 
more  simple  or  reasonable  than  the  explanation  which 
is  afforded  by  the  geonomic  theory  here  given. 

The  elliptical  circulation  of  the  ocean  waters  being 
admitted,  it  follows  that  each  distinct  ellipse  must  be 
a  separate  geological  basin,  and  that  the  phenomena 
which  are  presented  in  one  basin  must  be  repeated  in 
another  with  but  little  variation.  In  this  respect  geo- 
logical formations  must  be,  like  peninsulas  and  moun- 
tain ranges,  liable  to  be  repeated  again  and  again,  wher- 
ever the  elliptical  circulation  of  the  waters  is  repeated. 
Hereafter,  it  will  be  a  question  when  a  geological  exam- 
ination of  any  district  is  made,  To  what  ellipse  does 
it  belong?  Assuming  that  mountains  were  caused  in 
the  first  place  by  the  sinking  of  the  primitive  strata, 
the  secondary  strata  would  of  course  be  laid  upon  the 
top  of  the  primitive,  and  the  mountains  would  be  paral- 
8* 


90  OUTLINES   OF  GEONOMY. 

lei  with  both ;  not  because  the  mountains  or  shores 
fenced  in  the  currents,  and  forced  them  to  assume  their 
characteristic  curves,  but  it  is  because  the  strata,  the 
shores,  and  the  mountains,  received  their  curves  from  the 
currents  to  which  they  all  owed  their  birth. 

The  geological  strata  are  piled  up  as  if  one  formation 
was  riding  upon  the  other  behind  ;  each  new  addition 
tending  to  tip  the  hindmost  part  of  the  load  farther 
down.  We  actually  find  the  last  deposited  strata,  when 
undisturbed,  in  the  lowest  situations,  and  the  first  the 
highest.  The  lowest  deposits  are  near  the  shore,  and 
frequently  extend  beneath  the  sea  ;  and  there,  over  all, 
another  formation,  of  unknown  depth,  is  taking  place, 
which,  if  it  subsides  by  its  weight,  must  press  the  lava 
up  to  the  highest  part  of  the  slope  in  the  manner  of  a 
wave,  forcing  it  out  at  the  top  of  a  volcano,  or  a  series 
of  volcanoes,  along  a  line  of  fractures  parallel  with 
the  line  of  the  deposits  whose  pressure  produced  the 
movement. 

Sometimes  it  has  probably  happened  that  one  forma- 
tion, as  it  is  called,  did  not  weigh  enough  to  turn  the 
^cale,  and  produce  a  movement,  until  another,  and  per- 
haps a  third,  was  added  ;  but  when  the  mass  moved, 
though  but  a  few  feet,  it  would  cause  a  tremendous  vol- 
cano, at  the  point  where  it  was  vented. 

It  will  be  admitted  that  depositions  of  sediment  have 
always  been  made  horizontally  ;  of  course,  the  first 
depositions  were  so.  If  any  submarine  mountains  had 
existed  at  that  time,  the  strata  must  have  been  formed 
horizontally  on  the  tops  of  those  mountains  ;  or  if  the 
mountains  had  been  previously  elevated  above  the  sea, 


GEOLOGY.  91 

the  strata  must  have*  formed  around  their  bases  in  a 
horizontal  manner.  If,  afterwards,  the  whole  mountain 
had  been  elevated  still  higher,  the  granitic  top  would 
yet  have  towered  high  above  all  the  strata,  and  borne 
the  most  decisive  evidence  of  its  priority  of  birth.  But 
no  such  mountains  exist.  All  granitic  crags  are 
sheathed  in  gneiss,  slate,  sandstone,  or  limestone,  which 
has  fallen  from  water,  and  been  pierced  by,  and  been 
elevated  along  with,  the  granite. 

There  are  no  granitic  mountains  with  only  horizontal 
strata  around  them.  The  primary  stratified  rocks, 
therefore,  were  not  deposited  at  the  bases  of  mountain 
ranges  of  granite,  for  none  such  existed  when  the  first 
aqueous  deposits  were  made  ;  and  I  conclude  they  never 
would  have  existed  but  for  the  pressure  of  the  accumu- 
lated sediment  in  one  place,  forcing  the  lava  to  seek 
relief  and  an  outlet  above. 

The  igneous  crust  of  the  earth  was  equalized  in 
thickness  by  the  internal  heat  below  it  and  the  water 
which  flowed  above  it.  Bearing  with  equal  weight  upon 
all  points  of  the  earth's  surface,  it  could  of  course  pro- 
duce no  mountains  nor  valleys.  But  the  water,  alter- 
nately heated  at  the  tropics  and  cooled  at  the  poles,  was 
made  to  carry  detritus,  and  make  deposits  in  the  course 
of  its  circuit,  until  it  formed  for  itself  an  elliptical 
path,  bounded  by  strata,  the  weight  of  which  has  pro- 
duced parallel  mountain  ranges  and  shores,  whose  length 
and  height  have  continually  increased  to  the  present 
time,  to  give  outlines  to  our  continents  and  variety  to 
our  climes. 


92  OUTLINES  OF  GEONOMY. 

SECTION  Y. 

PARALLELISM    OF    CURRENTS,  STRATA,  AND    MOUNTAINS. 

No  class  of  facts  relating  to  this  subject  will  be  as 
convincing  to  a  geologist  as  those  which  show  that  the 
mountains  are  parallel  to  the  strike  or  range  of  the 
stratified  rocks,  and  to  the  ocean  currents  also. 

Professor  Philips,  in  his  excellent  Manual  of  Geology, 
(London,  1855,  p.  67,)  says,  — 

11  It  was  long  since  remarked  by  Mitchell,  (one  of  the 
best  and  earliest  of  English  geologists,)  that  the  direc- 
tion of  the  strata,  in  any  region,  was. generally  parallel 
to  the  ranges  of  mountains  —  ^  truth  of  great  impor- 
tance in  the  modern  system  of  geology. 

"  The  most  prevalent  range  of  the  strata  in  any  coun- 
try must,  however,  depend  on  another  circumstance,  viz., 
the  original  line  of  the  ocean's  boundary.  In  many 
parts  of  the  globe,  the  most  prevalent  direction  of  the 
strata  is  observed  to  be  north-east  and  south-west.  Hum- 
boldt was  so  struck  with  these  loxodromic  [oblique] 
lines  in  Europe,  that  he  says  one  of  his  principal  in- 
ducements to  visit  equatorial  America  was  to  examine 
the  directions  of  the  strata  there.  He  has  furnished 
evidence  that  parallelism  of  the  strata  to  the  great  lines 
of  mountains  is  a  general  law  of  nature" 

It  would  certainly  be  difficult  to  defend  the  geonomic 
theory,  if  the  general   parallelism   of  the   strata,   an- 


PARALLELISM    OF    CURRENTS,  STRATA,    ETC.  93 

noimced  by  Mitchell,  and  confirmed  by  the  venerable 
Humboldt,  did  not  exist.  But  this  being  thus  settled 
by  the  very  highest  authorities  in  science,  and  it  being 
self-evident  that  the  deposits  from  the  water  must  be 
made  in  the  paths  of  the  currents,  and  that  the  currents 
must  move  in  conformity  with  the  astronomic  laws  which 
produce  the  changes  of  the  seasons  and  the  rotation  of 
the  earth,  there  is  little  else  to  prove. 

There  is  nothing  inconsistent  with  these  principles  in 
the  fact  that  in  some  instances  the  strike  of  the  strata 
run,  as,  according  to  Lyell  and  Yon  Dechen,  they  do  in 
the  Hartz  Mountains,  frequently  north-east  and  south- 
west, while  the  geographical  direction  of  the  mountains 
is  transverse.  This  may  always  be  expected  in  cases 
where  opposite  currents  have  alternately  prevailed  in 
the  same  region,  and  passed  over  parts  of  the  same 
area,  each  current  depositing  its  burden  of  sediment  in 
the  line  of  its  own  path.  The  result  would  naturally 
be,  that  the  heaviest  ridge  of  stratified  sediment  would 
prevail,  and  raise  a  mountain  parallel  to  its  own  course 
or  strike  ;  in  doing  this  it  would  make  a  transverse 
section  of  the  strata  which  run  in  the  opposite  direction. 
This  is  one  of  those  cases  where  the  exception  clearly 
proves  the  rule. 

There  are  some  such  striking  parallelisms  of  the 
mountains  to  each  other,  to  the  sea  shores,  to  lines  of 
volcanoes,  and  to  the  range  of  stratified  deposits  of  an- 
cient detritus,  that  it  was  almost  impossible  for  geolo- 
gists to  avoid  noticing  them.  Elie  de  Beaumont  in- 
ferred  that  those  mountains  that  are  parallel  to  each 
other  were  elevated  simultaneously,  and  at  a  different 


94  OUTLINES    OF    GEONOJMY. 

period  from  the  others.  The  reader  will,  however,  per- 
ceive that  geonomy  lends  no  support  to  this  theory,  but 
rather  it  indicates  that  the  mountains  of  Asia  were 
created  first,  and  that  the  progress  of  detritus  was 
south-westward  to  Patagonia.  Beaumont  attributes 
the  elevations,  as  most  authors  do,  to  the  expansion  of 
vapors  and  gases.  Humboldt,  in  his  "  Cosmos/'  suggests 
that  volcanoes  rise  in  lines  along  shores,  because  they 
meet  with  less  resistance  there  than  at  other  places ; 
but  on  the  whole  he  admits  his  inability  to  understand 
the  phenomena,  and  contents  himself  with  adding  essen- 
tially to  our  knowledge  of  facts.  This  distinguished  phi- 
losopher performed  a  service  to  science  by  sanction- 
ing with  his  authority  the  suggestion  of  Mitchell,  that 
ranges  of  strata  are  laid  parallel  to  ranges  of  moun- 
tains ;  though  it  appears  to  be  more  in  accordance  with 
the  facts  to  say  that  mountains  are  raised  in  lines  par- 
allel to  the  ranges  of  strata  ;  and  I  would  remark,  in 
reference  to  Baron  Humboldt's  suggestion  concerning 
shores,  that  ranges  of  mountains  rose  in  lines  before 
shores  existed  ;  indeed,  it  was  sucli  lines  that  originally 
constituted  shores. 

It  has  often  been  observed  that  the  appearance  of  a 
mountainous  country  resembled  the  waves  of  the  sea. 
Professor  H.  D.  Rogers  was  particularly  struck  with 
the  parallelism  of  groups  of  mountains  to  each  other, 
when  he  was  engaged  in  the  survey  of  the  Appalachian 
chain  in  Pennsylvania,  in  company  with  his  brother, 
Professor  Win.  B.  Rogers.  He  attempts  to  account  for 
the  wave-like  appearances,  by  assuming  that  a  sudden 
explosion  of  gaseous  elements  had   in  each   instance 


PARALLELISM  OF  CURRENTS,  STRATA,  ETC.     95 

caused  an  undulation  of  the  liquid  ocean  below  the 
earth's  crust ;  that  the  undulation  took  the  same  form 
as  that  which  is  generally  assumed  by  the  ocean's 
waves,  but  more  regular.  These  subterraneous  waves, 
acting  upwards,  elevated  the  crust,  and  impressed  upon 
it  their  own  wave-like  or  undulatory  forms.  Although 
I  cannot  subscribe  to  the  theory  adopted  by  Professor 
Rogers,  I  must  do  him  the  justice  to  acknowledge  that 
he  has  shown,  by  an  array  of  important  and  original 
observations,  that,  in  many  instances,  the  separate 
groups  of  mountains  do  appear  to  assume  the  charac- 
teristic forms  of  waves,  their  crests  all  inclining  in  one 
direction.  In  some  instances  the  mountain  topis  folded 
over  so  that  it  points  downward. 

If  one  mountain  crest  only  presented  the  appearance 
of  inclination  in  a  particular  direction,  it  might  be  at- 
tributed to  accident ;  but  it  is  a  universal  fact,  that,  in 
each  distinct  group  of  parallel  mountains,  the  crests 
incline  in  one  direction,  just  as  do  those  of  the  waves 
of  the  sea,  when  urged  by  a  strong  wind.  The  irresist- 
ible inference  is,  that  a  common  or  a  similar  cause 
operated  upon  them  all,  bending  them  in  one  common 
direction,  in  such  a  way  as  to  produce  the  wave  form 
which  is  now  apparent. 

Professor  Rogers  concluded  that  there  must  have 
been  a  large  body  of  liquid  lava  below  the  crust,  the 
undulatory  movements  of  which  produced  the  appear- 
ances that  he  has  so  well  described.  He  was  confirmed 
in  Ills  views  by  noticing  that  the  tops  of  these  rocky 
waves  are  progressively  more  distant  from  each  other, 
and  also  less  elevated  and  less  inclined,  the  farther  they 


»*>  OUTLINES    OF    GEONOMY. 

are  situated  from  the  highest  petrified  mountain  wave, 
or  what  he  denominates  "  the  chief  igneous  axis  of  dis- 
turbance." 

It  had  been  previously  remarked  that  the  long,  gentle 
slopes  of  the  land  are  most  frequently  to  the  north  and 
east,  and  that  the  abrupt  slopes  are  to  the  south  and 
west ;  but  the  details  of  the  wave-like  arrangement  had 
not  before  been  distinctly  described.  It  must  be  ob- 
served, however,  that  while  the  observations  of  Profess- 
or Rogers  indicate  that  the  difference  in  the  steepness 
of  the  opposite  slopes  of  the  same  mountain  is  owing  to 
the  direction  of  the  force  which  produces  the  elevations, 
it  gives  no  clew  to  the  cause  of  their  assuming  one 
direction  rather  than  another,  nor  of  their  operating 
in  such  long  extended  lines  as  those  which  the  Appala- 
chians present.  But  the  geonomic  theory  shows  plainly 
and  consistently  how  the  appearance  of  waves  origi- 
nated ;  why  they  were  produced  in  lines  in  one  direc- 
tion ;  why  they  differ  in  height ;  why  they  operated  with 
most  intensity  at  the  close  of  the  geological  formations ; 
why  they  are  parallel  to  those  formations,  to  the  ocean 
channels,  to  the  shores,  and  to  each  other  ;  and  also 
why  the  mountains  have  progressively  increased  in 
height  as  the  stratified  deposits  have  increased  in  depth. 
The  geonomic  theory  also  gives  a  perfect  explanation 
of  the  fact  that  the  abrupt  slopes  of  the  mountains  are 
towards  the  east  in  the  eastern  part  of  Asia,  Australia, 
and  Africa,  towards  the  south  in  the  southern  part  of 
Asia  and  Europe,  towards  the  west  in  the  north-western 
part  of  Europe  and  almost  every  part  of  the  two  Ameri- 
cas.   In  fact  the  greater  abruptness  is  towards  the  larger 


PARALLELISM  OF  CURRENTS,  STRATA,  ETC.     97 

ocean,  where  the  most  detritus  has  accumulated,  and  the 
greater  subsidences  have  been  produced. 

Although  nearly  all  the  mountains  of  the  eastern  con- 
tinent slope  abruptly  to  the  east  or  south,  the  Scandi- 
navian and  British  mountains  are  exceptions,  and  are 
most  elevated  towards  the  Atlantic  Ocean.* 

Subsidences  unquestionably  may  produce  waves  in 
the  lava  beneath  the  crust,  but  it  does  not  follow  that 
mountains  are  petrified  waves,  nor  that  the  lava  moved 
in  waves  in  the  direction  indicated  by  the  foldings  of 
the  mountain  crests.  The  probability  is,  that  it  moved 
in  a  contrary  direction,  and  that  the  crests  are  produced 
by  the  reaction  of  one  wave  against  another ;  the  side 
on  which  there  w£s  the  least  subsidence  overriding  the 
other,  and  allowing  it  to  spend  its  force  against  the 
base  of  the  abrupt  side  of  the  mountain. 

Professor  Traill  in  his  article  on  Physical  Geography, 
in  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  remarks, — 

"If  we  endeavor  to  generalize  the  observations  on 
the  direction  of  mountain  chains,  one  very  remarkable 
peculiarity  seems  deducible,  namely,  that  they  very  gen- 
erally present  their  steepest  acclivities  towards  the 
great  basins  to  which  they  are  contiguous,  while  they 
slope  more  gradually  in  the  opposite  direction  ;  and  on 
examining  their  intimate  structure,  we  find  their  strati- 


*  The  gradual  elevation  on  the  west  and  depression  on  the  east  of  the 
south-eastern  parts  of  England,  parallel  to  the  line  of  the  oolites,  and  pro- 
longed in  duration  through  the  whole  period  of  the  saliferous,  oolite,  cre- 
taceous, and  tertiary  rocks,  would  fully  agree  with  the  general  physical 
features  of  the  surface  of  the  district."  —  Philips's  Manual  of  Geology. 

9 


98  OUTLINES  OP  GEONOMY. 

fied  beds  dipping  generally  from  the  basins  to  which 
their  escarpments  are  presented.  Thus  the  ridges  of 
the  Scandinavian  peninsula  present  their  boldest  escarp- 
ments to  the  basin  of  the  Northern  Atlantic  ;  while  the 
opposite  ranges  of  Greenland  and  Iceland  also  show 
their  steepest  acclivities  towards  that  basin.  Round 
the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  the  same  arrangements 
are  especially  observable.  The  lofty  ridge  of  the  Atlas 
is  very  bold  on  the  northern  side,  and  declines  more 
gradually  towards  the  Sahara.  The  chain  of  Spanish 
mountains  which  skirt  the  Mediterranean,  from  Gibral- 
tar to  the  Pyrenees,  present  their  escarpments  towards 
that  sea  ;  and  the  Maritime  Alps  of  France,  the  moun- 
tains of  Switzerland  and  the  Tyrol,  oi  Istria,  Dalmatia, 
and  Thrace,  all  present  their  most  precipitous  sides  to 
the  basin  of  the  Mediterranean.  We  believe  that  the 
considerable  chain  which  in  Asia  Minor  extends  from 
Mount  Ida  to  the  country  around  Scanderoon  has  the 
escarpment  directed  towards  the  Levant  seas ;  while 
the  mountains  of  Armenia  present  their  boldest  declivi- 
ties to  the  basin  of  the  Euxine,  and  the  Caucasus  and 
mountains  of  Mazanderan  towards  that  of  the  Caspian. 
The  escarpment  of  the  great  chain  of  Africa,  termed 
that  of  Lupata,  which  seems  to  be  prolonged  from  the 
lofty  mountains  of  Abyssinia  to  the  south  of  the  Mo- 
zambique Channel,  would  appear,  from  the  little  we 
have  learned  of  its  structure,  to  face  the  basin  of  the 
Indian  Ocean  ;  and  we  know  that  the  steepest  decliv- 
ities of  the  Western  Ghauts  of  India  are  directed 
towards  the  same  basin.     The   mighty  spine  of  the 


PARALLELISM  OP  CURRENTS,  STRATA,  ETC.     99 

American  continent,  from  the  shores  of  the  Arctic  Fro- 
zen Ocean  to  the  extremity  of  South  America,  through 
a  course  of  more  than  eight  thousand  six  hundred  British 
miles,  presents  a  series  of  rugged  precipices  to  the  vast 
basin  of  the  Pacific  ;  and,  if  we  might  indulge  in  one 
sweeping  generalization,  it  would  seem  that  the  chains 
stretching  from  the  Persian  Gulf  eastward  through 
Thibet,  and  thence  bending  to  the  north-east  through 
Mongolia  and  Northern  China  to  Tscheoutskoi-nos  on 
the  Frozen  Ocean,  present  their  fronts  also  to  the  Pa- 
cific Ocean. 

"  As  such  coincidences  can  scarcely  be  considered  as 
accidental,  they  afford  a  wide  field  for  speculation. 
Can  we  suppose  that  appearances,  on  such  an  immense 
scale,  have  any  relation  to  the  operation  of  the  force 
which  caused  the  elevation  of  the  land,  acting  towards 
a  central  point,  and  producing  the  dip  of  the  elevated 
strata  all  around,  from  a  common  axis  of  movement  ? 
Such  speculations,  aided  by  the  position  of  volcanoes,  and 
other  mountains  of  igneous  formation,  might  lead  us  to 
infer  the  direction  of  the  great  lines  of  subterranean  dis- 
turbances which  have  modified  the  appearance  of  the 
crust  of  the  earth.77 

The  preceding  observations  of  Professor  Traill  are 
very  interesting  and  instructive  ;  but  the  learned  author 
did  not  mention  that  there  are  some  remarkable  excep- 
tions to  the  rule  that  mountains  present  "  their  steepest 
acclivities  to  the  great  basins  to  which  they  are  contigu- 
ous." The  Appalachians,  for  instance,  are  contiguous  to 
the  Atlantic,  but  they  present  their  steepest  acclivities 
to  the  Pacific ;  and  this,  in  my  opinion,  proves  that  at  the 


100  OUTLINES  OF  GEONOMY. 

time  that  the  Appalachians  were  elevated,  which  was 
immediately  after  the  coal  period,  the  Pacific  extended 
to  the  western  side  of  the  Appalachians,  and  the  Rocky 
Mountains  were  not  then  in  existence.  (See  Professor 
Guyot's  Earth  and  Man.) 

The  rule  seems  to  be,  that  if  an  elevation  is  contigu- 
ous to  two  oceans,  it  presents  its  steepest  acclivities  to 
the  larger  one,  and  in  all  cases  it  presents  them  to  the 
basin  the  subsidence  of  which  caused  the  elevation. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  best  authenticated  cases  that  I 
can  produce  at  present,  in  which  earthquakes  have  been 
detected  in  the  very  act  of  producing  elevations  in  lines 
parallel  to  the  lines  of  subsidence  and  to  the  shore  lines, 
is  the  following,  related  by  Mr.  Lyell :  — 

"  A  violent  earthquake  occurred  at  Cutch,  in  the 
delta  of  the  Indus,  June  16,  1819.  The  sea  flowed  in 
by  the  eastern  mouth  of  the  Indus,  and  in  a  few  hours 
converted  a  tract  of  land  two  thousand  square  miles  in 
area  into  an  inland  sea,  or  lagoon. 

"Immediately  after  the  shock,  the  inhabitants  of 
Sindree  saw,  at  the  distance  of  five  miles  and  a  half  from 
their  sunken  village,  a  long,  elevated  mound,  where  pre- 
viously there  had  been  a  perfectly  level  plain.  To  this 
uplifted  tract  they  gave  the  name  of  '  Ulla  Bund/ 
or  the  '  Mound  of  God.' 

"  It  has  been  ascertained  that  this  newly-raised  coun- 
try is  upwards  of  fifty  miles  in  length,  from  east  to 
west,  running  parallel  to  that  line  of  subsidence  before 
mentioned,  which  caused  the  grounds  around  Sindree  to 
be  flooded  ;  its  breadth  from  north  to  south  is  conjec- 
tured to  be  in  some  parts  sixteen  mile3,  and  its  greatest 


PARALLELISM  OF  CURRENTS,  STRATA,  ETC.    101 

ascertained  height  above  the  original  level  of  the  delta 
is  ten  feet,  —  an  elevation  which  appears  to  the  eye  to 
be  very  uniform  throughout." 


STEAM  AND   EXPLOSIVE   THEORY. 

Whatever  may  be  thought  of  my  views,  the  steam 
and  explosive  theory  is  utterly  inadequate  to  account 
for  the  origin  of  earthquakes  and  volcanoes  ;  for  even 
if  we  assume  that  water,  in  sufficient  quantities,  when 
brought  into  contact  with  melted  lava,  would  generate 
steam  enough  to  elevate  mountains  and  continents,  we 
must  previously  contrive  some  way  for  the  water  to 
penetrate  through  the  crust  of  the  earth..  Here  our 
theorists  rely  upon  " accidents"  to  produce  eruptions, 
and  upon  "  dislocations  caused  by  previous  eruptions." 
It  appears  to  me  that  there  is  no  known  way  in  which 
the  crust  of  the  earth  could  be  originally  broken,  ex- 
cept by  external  pressure.  It  must  also  be  evident  that 
it  requires  as  great  a  force  to  break  the  crust  downward 
and  admit  the  water  to  the  liquid  lava  as  it  does  to 
raise  the  lava  to  the  surface.  When  the  deposits  press 
the  crust,  and  cause  it  to  move  downward,  they  must 
crowd  away  the  lava  which  is  underneath,  and  break 
the  crust  besides.  If  we  have  a  force  sufficient  to  do 
this,  we  require  no  other  ;  for  the  downward  movement 
in  one  line  will,  of  itself,  cause  an  upward,  wave-like 
movement  of  the  lava  in  a  parallel  line. 

When  the  granite  was  first  formed  on  the  surface  of 
the   lava,   and    the   waters   and   atmosphere   arranged 
themselves   concentrically   above,  what  was  there  to 
9* 
\ 


102  OUTLINES   OF  GEONOMY. 

cause  the  water  to  come  into  contact  with  the  subter- 
ranean lava,  except  the  unequal  downward  pressure  of 
detritus  and  strata  ?  The  suggestion  that  crevices  made 
during  one  earthquake  are  the  passages  by  which  the 
water  enters  to  produce  a  subsequent  explosion  an  in- 
definite time  afterwards,  is  too  palpably  illogical  to  re- 
quire a  serious  refutation,  since  the  very  question  is, 
what  caused  the  first  eruptions  ? 

Sir  Charles  Lyell  and  some  others  imagine  that  the 
lava  which  is  emitted  through  volcanoes  cause  vacant 
places  beneath  the  crust,  so  that  it  is  liable  at  any  time 
to  collapse  and  fall  beneath  its  own  weight,  and  thus  ex- 
tend the  depth  of  the  ocean.  On  the  other  hand,  when 
the  crust  is  elevated  by  volcanic  action,  they  suppose 
that  it  sustains  itself  on  the  principle  of  an  arch 
after  the  lava  and  gases  which  temporarily  upheld  it 
have  subsided.  These  are  the  speculations  to  which 
even  superior  minds  are  driven  to  support  an  erroneous 
opinion. 

Let  us  suppose,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  that  the 
water,  by  some  accident,  should  actually  pass  through  a 
chasm  in  the  crust ;  what  would  be  the  natural  effect  ? 
Would  it  produce  an  explosion  which  would  operate  in 
regular  lines  for  hundreds  of  miles,  and  cau.-e  long, 
beautiful,  petrified  waves  in  the  lava,  several  thousand 
feet  high,  by  its  reaction,  and  yet  merely  break  the 
earth's  crust  at  the  top  ?  Would  it  not,  like  the  explo- 
sion of  a  mine,  scatter  the  external  crust  in  all  direc- 
tions, leaving  nothing  to  mark  the  spot  but  a  deep, 
irregular  pit,  bordered  by  chaotic  ruins  ? 

If  any  philosopher  who  believes  in  this  theory  pos- 


PARALLELISM  OF  CURRENTS,  STRATA,  ETC.    103 

sesses  a  practical  turn  of  mind,  lie  can  easily  verify  his 
opinions  by  an  experiment.  Let  him  take  a  vessel 
which  is  filled  with  molten  metal  or  lava,  cover  the 
surface  of  the  liquid  with  a  red-hot  iron  plate,  strewn 
with  sand  and  clay,  to  represent  the  earth's  crust, 
fasten  it  securely  in  its  place ;  now,  through  a  pre-ar- 
ranged crevice,  admit  a  little  water  into  the  vessel,  and 
observe  the  effect.  Let  the  experimenter  vary  the  op- 
eration in  any  way  he  may  please,  provided  he  brings 
liquid  lava  and  water  together,  he  will  have  nothing 
but  an  irregular  and  ruinous  explosion.  If  any  waves 
are  produced  in  the  lava,  they  will  move  in  all  direc- 
tions, and  subside  again  to  their  original  place. 

Reason  upon  this  subject  as  we  may,  we  must  com- 
mence with  a  lineal  cause.  Whatever  produces  the 
first  movement  of  an  earthquake  evidently  moves  in  a 
line.  If  we  suppose  that  the  earthquake  merely  breaks 
through  a  previously  prepared  line,  we  must  yet  inquire 
what  force  caused  the  original  line  to  extend  so  far  in 
one  direction,  instead  of  radiating  in  many  lines  from 
one  point.  If  we  assume  that  the  force  was  constrained 
by  some  limiting  cause,  then  we  must  inquire  what  was 
that  cause ;  for  that  also  must  have  acted  in  a  line. 
The  problem  appears  to  be  solved  when  we  ascertain 
that  the  lines  of  mountains  are  parallel  with  the  lines 
of  stratified  deposits,  and  that  both  are  in  the  line  of 
the  ancient  ocean  currents. 

Some  of  those  who  advocate  the  steam  and  explosive 
theory  combine  with  it  the  idea  that  the  cooling  and 
contraction  of  the  internal  nucleus  of  the  earth  leaves  a 
space  between  the  nucleus  and  the  crust,  so  that  when 


104  OUTLINES  OF  GEONOMY. 

the  crust  collapses  it  lets  the  water  down  upon  the  lava 
beneath.  According  to  this  theory  the  earth  may  be 
compared  to  a  dried  fig,  the  outer  enveloping  skin  of 
which  is  too  large  for  the  internal  parts  that  have  lost 
their  juices  by  evaporation. 

Notwithstanding  that  mathematical  calculations  ap- 
pear to  demonstrate  that  the  loss  of  heat  by  radiation 
through  the  crust  could  not  possibly  be  sufficient  to  pro- 
duce the  contraction  which  this  hypothesis  demands,  it 
is  still  adhered  to  by  some  geologists,  apparently  for  the 
want  of  a  more  plausible  explanation  of  the  facts. 

According  to  Mrs.  Somerville,  "  M.  Fourier  has  com- 
puted that  the  central  heat  is  decreasing  from  radiation 
by  only  about  the  one  three  thousandth  part  of  a  second 
in  a  century.  If  so?  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  ulti- 
mately it  will  all  be  dissipated ;  but  as  far  as  regards 
organic  life  it  is  of  very  little  consequence  whether  the 
centre  of  our  planet  be  liquid  fire,  or  ice,  since  its  con- 
dition in  either  case  would  have  no  sensible  effect  on  the 
climate  of  the  surface.77 

Mr.  Lyell  remarks,  that  *■  astronomers  having  proved 
that  there  has  been  no  perceptible  change  in  the  diame- 
ter of  the  earth  during  the  last  two  thousand  years,  we 
may  assume  it  as  probable  that  the  dimensions  of  the 
planet  remain  uniform.  If,  then,  we  inquire  in  what 
manner  the  force  of  earthquakes  must  be  regulated  in 
order  to  restore  perpetually  the  inequalities  of  the  sur- 
face, which  the  levelling  power  of  the  water  tends  to 
efface,  it  will  be  found  that  the  amount  of  depression 
must  exceed  that  of  elevation.  It  would  be  otherwise 
if  the  action  of  volcanoes  and  mineral  springs  were  sus- 


STRATA,   ETC.  105 

pended  ;  for  then  the  forcing  out  of  the  earth's  envelope 
ought  to  be  no  more  than  equal  to  its  sinking  in. 

"  To  understand  this  proposition  more  clearly,  it  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that  the  deposits  of  rivers  and  cur- 
rents probably  add  as  much  to  lands  which  are  rising 
as  they  take  from  those  which  have  risen." 

Geologists  have  been  much  puzzled  to  find  a  normal 
force  which  is  powerful  enough  to  cause  the  upheaval 
of  continents,  and  yet  capable  of  remaining  quiet  when 
not  wanted  to  produce  terrestrial  convulsions.  Such  a 
force  is  found.  Nature  is  engaged  during  a  whole  geo- 
logical age  in  accumulating  at  one  end  of  a  scale-beam 
a  weight  sufficient  to  raise  the  other  end  ;  and  when  the 
time  has  nearly  arrived,  the  balance  trembles  with  warn- 
ing, and  then  moves  —  sometimes  suddenly — just  far 
enough  to  restore  the  lost  equilibrium,  but  no  farther. 
In  all  cases  the  movement  upwards  must  be  exactly 
equalled  by  the  movement  downwards. 

We  have  the  high  authority  of  Lyell  to  sustain  the 
assumption  that  the  subsidences  of  the  earth's  crust  are 
on  the  whole  fully  equal  to  the  elevations ;  and  the 
logical  reader  will  perceive  that  the  admission  is  of 
considerable  importance  to  the  new  theory. 

Sir  John  Herschel,  being  struck,  as  Humboldt  was, 
by  the  fact  that  most  volcanoes  are  situated  near  the  sea 
shores,  proposed  a  theory  in  which  he  assumed  that  two 
corresponding  openings  are  made  through  the  crust  of 
the  earth  before  the  eruption  commences  ;  one  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  ocean,  —  not  by  the  weight  of  the  detritus 
there,  but  by  its  non-conducting  qualities,  like  addi- 
tional clothing  to  our  bodies,  preventing  the  escape  of 


106  OUTLINES    OF    GEONOMY. 

the  internal  heat,  so  that  it  melts  a  portion  of  the  crust. 
The  other  opening  is  made  near  the  sea  shore,  where  the 
abrasion  of  the  waves  has  already  worn  the  crust  very 
thin,  and  thus  exposed  it  to  cool  unequally,  and  conse- 
quently to  crack  opes.  These  two  openings  being  thus 
previously  made,  by  directly  opposite  causes,  the  super- 
incumbent water  and  detritus  are  supposed  by  their 
weight  to  crowd  a  portion  of  the  melted  matter  down 
through  the  orifice  at  the  bottom,  and  to  force  an  equal 
quantity  of  lava  to  vent  itself  through  the  higher  open- 
ing near  the  shore. 

This  hypothesis,  besides  being  subject  to  the  serious 
objection  of  being  founded  upon  two  very  doubtful  as- 
sumptions concerning  ruptures  of  the  earth's  crust,  en- 
tirely fails  to  account  for  the  established  fact  of  the 
gradual  elevation  of  whole  countries  and  continents 
without  any  volcanic  eruptions  whatever.  According 
to  the  geonomic  theory  advocated  in  these  pages,  earth- 
quakes and  eruptions  of  lava  are  only  occasional  inci- 
dents which  attend  the  elevation  of  lands.  Scandinavia 
affords  an  illustration  in  point ;  the  depression  of  the 
southern  shore  and  of  the  ocean's  bed  has  caused  the 
northern  portion  of  Sweden  and  Finland  to  rise,  slowly 
and  gradually,  for  ages,  without  being  visited  by  any 
volcanoes  ;  but  let  the  upward  progress  of  the  land  be 
resisted  and  prevented,  or  let  the  crust  be  weakened  at 
a  particular  point,  and  a  quaking  or  a  local  eruption 
would  be  the  immediate  consequence.  I  doubt  not  that 
the  volcanoes  of  Iceland  and  the  Faroe  Islands  are 
caused  by  the  same  general  depression  which  is  elevating 
Sweden. 


PARALLELISM   OF  CURRENTS,    STRATA,   ETC.         107 

It  has  been  observed  (see  Sillhnan's  Journal,  vol. 
xix.  p.  55)  that  earthquakes  happen  most  frequently 
during  the  time  of  certain  tides.  Is  this  because  the 
weight  and  pressure  of  the  ocean  at  that  time  is  greater 
than  usual  in  some  places,  and  less  in  others  ?  If  the 
observation  is  correct,  —  and  I  have  no  doubt  of  it,  — 
does  it  not  harmonize  with  the  views  advocated  in  these 
pages  ? 

THICKNESS   OF   THE    CRUST. 

In  regard  to  the  thickness  of  the  earth's  crust,  noth- 
ing certain  is  known.  All  the  prominent  authors  who 
have  referred  to  it  treat  the  stratified  rocks  as  if  they 
were  a  part  of  the  crust ;  and  when  they  claim  that  they 
have  been  able  to  measure  from  ten  to  sixty-eight  miles 
perpendicularly  by  adding  together  the  thicknesses  of  a 
succession  of  overlapping  strata,  they  appear  to  assume 
that  the  real  crust  of  the  earth  is  known  to  that  depth. 
But  the  true  original  crust  is  granite  only,  upon  which 
the  strata  are  superimposed.     Dr.  Hitchcock  says,  — 

"  If  we  get  the  perpendicular  thickness  of  a  series  of 
strata,  we  ascertain  the  character  of  the  crust  of  the 
globe  to  that  depth.  If  we  measure  the  breadth  of  a 
•series  of  upturned  strata,  on  a  line  at  right  angles  to 
their  strike,  and  ascertain  their  dip,  we  have  given  the 
hypothenuse  and  angles  of  a  right-angled  triangle  to 
find  the  perpendicular,  which  is  the  thickness  of  the 
strata.  If  the  strata  are  perpendicular,  a  horizontal 
line  across  their  edges  gives  their  thickness.  By  meas- 
urements and  calculations  of  this  sort,  it  has  been  ascer- 
tained that  the  total  thickness  of  the  fossiliferous  strata 


108  OUTLINES   OF   GEONOMY. 

in  Europe  is  not  less  than  twenty-seven  miles.  In 
Pennsylvania,  the  fossiliferous  rocks  beneath  the  top  of 
the  coal  measures  are  forty  thousand  feet,  or  more  than 
seven  and  a  half  miles  in  thickness.  (Rogers's  Report.) 
In  the  peninsula  of  Tauris,  Pallas  describes  a  continued 
series  of  primary  strata,  inclined  forty-five  degrees  over 
a  distance  of  eighty-six  miles  ;  which  would  give  a  per- 
pendicular thickness  of  more  than  sixty-eight  miles. 
(Lyell's  Geology.)  In  New  England,  as,  for  instance,  on 
the  railroad  between  Westfield  and  Pittsfield,  we  have 
strata  of  primary  rocks,  for  the  most  part  nearly  per- 
pendicular, not  less  than  twenty  miles  in  thickness." 

I  cannot  help  suspecting  that  the  thicknesses  of  the 
strata  are  greatly  overrated  ;  but  assuming  the  very 
lowest  estimates  to  be  correct,  the  weight  of  the  strata 
gives  us  a  force  quite  sufficient  to  account  for  all  the 
phenomena  of  earthquakes  and  volcanoes. 

There  is  nothing,  with  which  we  are  acquainted,  to 
thicken  the  granite  crust  of  the  earth,  except  the  radi- 
ation of  the  internal  heat  into  celestial  space.  It  must, 
therefore,  be  of  nearly  a  uniform  thickness  ;  and  since 
granite  is  exceedingly  non-conductive,  I  see  no  reason 
for  supposing  the  crust  to  be  more  than  one  mile  thick 
in  any  place. 


LOWLANDS,   PLATEAUS,   AND  MOUNTAINS.  109 


SECTION  VI. 

RELATION  OF  LOWLANDS,  PLATEAUS,  AND  MOUNTAINS  TO 
EACH  OTHER  AND  TO  EARTHQUAKES. 

The  term  plateau  is  applied  to  a  series  of  valleys  be- 
tween mountains  of  comparatively  moderate  height.  In 
the  progress  of  continental  elevation,  plateaus  must  have 
once  been  islands,  with  groups  of  mountains  running 
across  them,  after  the  manner  of  Great  Britain  and  Ire- 
land. The  same  upheaving  cause  which  raises  a  succession 
of  narrow  mountains  forms  them  into  a  group,  and  rends 
their  axes  to  give  vent  to  igneous  rocks,  operates  in  a 
more  steady  and  quiet,  though  perhaps  really  more  pow- 
erful manner,  to  produce  those  elevations  of  the  land 
which  we  call  plateaus.  We  may  regard  a  plateau  as  a 
wider  species  of  mountain,  or  a  succession  of  nearly 
parallel  ridges  of  mountains,  which  anciently  was  an 
island  ;  and  in  being  afterwards  elevated  to  its  present 
height,  it  drew  the  lower  lands  after  it  from  the  sea, 
and  forced  up  the  mountain  ridges  as  much  higher  as  it 
rose  itself.  Anatomically  speaking,  a  plateau  may  be 
regarded  as  the  skeleton  of  a  continent,  while  the  main 
ridge  of  mountains  is  the  backbone,  and  the  lowlands 
the  most  external  and  active  portions. 

"Viewing  things  on  a  broad  scale,  it  appears  that 

there  is  a  very  striking  connection  between  the  physical 

geography,  or  external  aspect  of  different  countries  and 

their  geological  structure.     By  a  minute  comparison  of 

10 


110  OUTLINES    OF    GEONOMY. 

the  different  parts  of  the  land,  M.  Soue*  has  shown 
that  similarity  of  outward  forms,  while  indicating  simi- 
larity in  the  producing  causes,  must  also,  to  a  large  ex- 
tent, indicate  identity  of  structure,  and  therefore  from 
the  external  appearance  of  an  unexplored  country  its 
geological  structure  may  be  inferred,  at  least  to  a  cer- 
tain extent. 

"The  form  of  the  great  continent  has  been  determined 
by  an  immense  zone  of  mountains  and  table  lands,  lying 
between  the  thirtieth  and  fortieth  or  forty-fifth  parallels 
of  north  latitude,  which  stretches  across  it  from  west- 
south-west  to  east- north-east,  from  the  coasts  of  Barbary 
and  Portugal,  on -the  Atlantic  Ocean,  to  the  farthest  ex- 
tremity of  Asia,  at  Behring's  Straits  in  the  North  Pacific. 
North  of  this  lies  a  vast  plain,  extending  almost  from 
the  Pyrenees  to  the  extremity  of  Asia,  the  greater  por- 
tion of  which  is  a  dead  level,  or  low  undulations  unin-- 
terrupted  except  by  the  Scandinavian  and  British  system 
on  the  north,  and  the  Ural  chain,  which  is  of  but  small 
elevation. 

"  The  table-lands  which  constitute  the  tops  of  moun- 
tains, or  of  mountain  chains,  are  of  a  different  charac- 
ter from  those  terraces  by  which  the  high  lands  slope  to 
the  low.  The  former  are  on  a  small  scale  in  Europe, 
and  of  a  forbidding  aspect,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Jura,  which  is  pastoral.  The  mass  of  high  land  in 
South-eastern  Europe  shelves  on  the  north  to  the  great 
plain  of  Bavaria,  three  thousand  feet  high ;  Bohemia, 
which  slopes  from  fifteen  hundred  to  nine  hundred  feet ; 
and  Hungary,  from  four  thousand  above  the  sea  to  three 
hundred.  The  descent  on  .the  south  side  of  the  Alps 
is  six  or  seven  times  more  rapid. 


LOWLANDS,   PLATEAUS,  AND    MOUNTAINS.  Ill 

"  As  the  table  lands  extend  from  south-west  to  north- 
east, so  also  do  the  principal  mountain  chains,  as  well 
those  which  bound  the  high  lands  as  those  that  traverse 
them. 

"  Remarkable  exceptions  to  this  equatorial  direction 
of  the  Asiatic  mass,  however,  occur  in  a  series  of  me- 
ridional chains,  whose  axes  extend  from  south-south- 
east to  north-north-west,  between  Cape  Cormorin,  oppo- 
site to  Ceylon,  and  the  Arctic  Ocean,  under  the  names 
of  the  Western  Ghauts,  the  Soliman,  East  Persia  range, 
the  Bola,  West  Tibet,  and  the  Oural  ;  to  this  may  be 
added  the  Khinghan,  in  China. 

"  Tibet  is  a  mountain  valley  enclosed  between  the 
chains  of  the  Himalaya  on  the  south,  and  the  Kuen-lun 
on  the  north. 

"  The  table  land  of  Tibet  is  only  four  thousand  feet 
•above  the  sea  towards  the  north  ;  but  it  rises  in  Little 
Tibet  to  between  eleven  thousand  and  twelve  thousand 
feet. 

"  The  great  northern  plain  is  broken  by  two  masses 
of  high  land,  in  every  respect  inferior  to  the  Oural  and 
the  Scandinavian.  The  Scandinavian  mountain  has  been 
compared  to  a  great  billow,  or  wave,  rising  gradually 
from  the  east,  which,  after  having  formed  a  crest,  falls 
perpendicularly  into  the  sea  at  the  west."  —  Mrs.  Sorri- 
er ville. 

The  lowlands  and  the  highest  mountain  peaks  appear 
to  have  been  raised  after  the  intermediate  plateaus,  for 
there  is  perfect  geological  evidence  that  the  lowest  Si- 
berian lands  which  lie  at  the  north-eastern  terminus  of 
the  Asiatic  slope  have  but  recently  emerged  from  the 


112  OUTLINES    OP    GEONOMY. 

sea ;  at  the  same  time  the  higher  parts  of  the  Hima- 
layas contain  evidence  of  modern  volcanic  elevations, 
which  have  certainly  taken  place  since  the  deposition 
of  the  first  tertiary  formations. 

In  regard  to  the  modus  operandi  of  the  convulsions 
which  raised  plateaus,  it  should  be  remarked  that  a 
slight  depression  of  a  vast  submarine  plain  might  qui- 
etly raise  a  whole  country,  or  it  might  cause  a  tremen- 
dous earthquake  in  a  limited  region,  and  a  remarkable 
outburst  through  a  long  line  of  parallel  volcanoes. 
Suppose,  for  instance,  that  a  subsidence  of  one  inch 
should  take  place  in  a  portion  of  the  bed  of  the  Atlan- 
tic consisting  of  one  thousand  square  miles  ;  the  conse- 
quence would  be,  that  a  sheet  of  lava  would  be  forced 
upward,  which  would  be  one  inch  thick  and  a  thousand 
square  miles  in  superficial  extent.  If,  in  rising,  the 
crust  of  the  continent  did  not  give  way  in  any  particu* 
lar  locality,  the  result  might  be  a  quiet  and  impercepti- 
ble elevation  of  one  thousand  square  miles  of  the 
American  or  European  lands  to  the  height  of  one  inch. 
This  movement  might  or  might  not  be  accompanied  by 
a  slight  shock  or  tremulous  motion  of  the  earth  in  some 
places,  and  a  slight  commotion  of  the  water.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  a  portion  of  the  oppressed  lava  should 
find  vent  through  a  parallel  line  of  volcanoes,  it  would 
elevate  the  whole  mass  of  land  less  by  so  much. 

The  place  where  the  pressure  and  subsidence  is  great- 
est may  be,  and  doubtless  it  frequently  is,  at  a  great 
distance  from  that  of  the  eruption  of  lava,  though  it 
may  also  be  very  near. 

Jorullo,  in  Mexico,  is  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
miles  from  the  nearest  sea  ;  but  the  lava  which  it  poured 


LOWLANDS,   PLATEAUS,   AND   MOUNTAINS."  113 

forth  doubtless  pursued  the  line  of  the  least  resistance 
to  vent  itself  there.  The  subsidence  may  have  hap- 
pened in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  or  in  the  Pacific,  or 
we  may  never  be  able  to  determine  its  locality  with 
perfect  certainty.  I  doubt  not,  however,  that  the  time 
will  soon  arrive  when  we  shall  be  able,  not  only  to  trace 
each  eruption  to  its  source,  but  to  predict  its  recurrence 
with  approximate  accuracy  from  a  scientific  knowledge 
of  its  remote  causes,  its  direction,  and  the  angles  and 
slopes  that  it  produces. 

I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  pretending  that  we 
can  now,  by  looking  at  a  common  map,  at  once  proceed 
to  explain  precisely  where  the  subsidences  took  place, 
which  caused  each  particular  elevation  ;  nor  can  we,  in 
all  cases,  point  out  the  direction  taken  by  the  lava  from 
its  deep  fountain  to  its  place  of  eruption  ;  neither  can 
we  explain,  in  every  instance,  the.  relation  between  the 
forms  assumed  by  the  continents,  peninsulas,  and  islands, 
without  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  geological  and 
topographical  circumstances.  I  do,  however,  insist,  that 
when  a  good  scientific  survey  of  a  region  has  been 
made,  so  that  its  actual  structure  is  known,  all  will  be 
found  consistent  with  the  essential  principles  advanced 
in  this  treatise.  We  find  but  few  maps  of  large  coun- 
tries which  are  reliable,  and  in  regard  to  many  regions 
the  authorities  differ  so  essentially  that  we  are  in  con- 
siderable doubt  concerning  them.  Nothing,  however,  is 
wanting  to  determine  geonomic  questions  but  a  correct 
survey  of  the  premises.  I  have  no  hesitation  in  ex- 
pressing the  confident  belief  that,  with  the  aid  of  the 
simple  principles  of  geonomy,  an  ordinary  geological 
10* 


114  OUTLINES    OP    GEONOMY. 

examiner,  with  ample  opportunities,  would  now  be  able 
to  give  a  good  account  of  any  country  on  the  earth, 
and  explain  the  origin  of  all  its  elevations  and  geologi- 
cal formations.  Not  only  so,  he  would  be  able  to 
predict  with  considerable  accuracy  its  future  changes 
of  level.  What  geonomer  will  hereafter  express  sur- 
prise on  hearing  that  the  land  at  the  north  end  of  the 
Gulf  of  Bothnia  is  rising,  while  that  at  the  south  is 
sinking?  Who  will,  after  this,  be  puzzled  to  explain 
why  there  are  volcanic  eruptions  in  the  Sicilian  islands, 
the  Mexican  plateau,  the  Pacific  Ocean,  or  along  the 
Aleutian  chain. 

If  I  appear  to  avoid  details  in  this  general  treatise,  I 
frankly  confess  that  it  is  in  part  owing  to  a  desire  not 
to  weaken  my  readers'  confidence  in  the  novel  principles 
which  I  am  advancing,  by  any  rash  applications  of  them 
to  cases  where  the  essential  topographical  circumstances 
are  not  understood,  and  where  I  should  consequently  be 
liable  to  commit  serious  errors.  I,  therefore,  shall  re- 
serve for  a  future  time,  and  perhaps  for  other,  and  I 
hope  abler  hands,  the  task  of  applying  these  principles 
nore  particularly  to  special  and  limited  regions.  Ex- 
perienced philosophers  will  appreciate  my  motives  and 
approve  of  my  cautiousness.  My  only  object  in  this 
treatise  is  to  announce  certain  laws  hitherto  unknown, 
that  afford  a  key  by  means  of  which  the  physical 
geography  of  any  region  of  the  land  or  sea  can  readily 
be  understood  after  it  has  been  carefully  surveyed. 

The  following  extracts  from  Lyell's  Principles  of  Ge- 
ology are  full  of  interest  and  instruction.  The  facts 
recorded  concerning  earthquakes  and  volcanoes  are 
highly  illustrative  of  the  principles  of  geonomy,  and  in 


LOWLANDS,  PLATEAUS,   AND   MOUNTAINS.  115 

turn  receive  from  them  their  only  rational  explanation. 
I  leave  the  readers  to  make  their  own  application  of 
the  principles  to  the  facts  as  related. 

"  Lisbon  Earthquake.  —  In  no  part  of  the  volcanic 
region  of  Southern  Europe  has  so  tremendous  an  earth- 
quake occurred  in  modern  times  as  that  which  began  on 
the  1st  of  November,  1755,  at  Lisbon.  A  sound  of 
thunder  was  heard  under  ground,  and  immediately 
afterwards  a  violent  shock  threw  down  the  greater  part 
of  the  city.  In  the  course  of  six  minutes,  sixty  thousand 
persons  perished.  The  sea  first  retired,  and  laid  the 
bar  dry  ;  it  then  rolled  in,  rising  fifty  feet  or  more 
above  its  ordinary  level.  * 

"  The  most  extraordinary  circumstance  which  oc- 
curred at  Lisbon  during  the  catastrophe  was  the  subsi- 
dence of  a  new  quay,  built  entirely  of  marble,  at  an 
immense  expense.  The  water  in  the  place  where  the 
quay  had  stood  is  stated,  in  many  accounts,  to  be  un- 
fathomable ;  but  Whitehurst  says  he  ascertained  it  to 
be  one  hundred  fathoms. 

"  The  great  area  over  which  this  Lisbon  earthquake 
extended  is  remarkable.  The  movement  was  most  vio- 
lent in  Spain,  Portugal,  and  the  north  of  Africa ;  but 
nearly  the  whole  of  Europe,  and  even  the  West  Indies, 
felt  the  shock  on  the  same  day. 

"  The  shock  was  felt  at  sea  on  the  deck  of  a  ship  to 
the  west  of  Lisbon.  Another  ship,  forty  leagues  west 
of  St.  Vincent,  experienced  so  violent  a  concussion  that 
the  men  were  thrown  a  foot  and  a  half  perpendicularly 
up  from  the  deck.  In- Antigua  and  Barbadoes,  as  also 
in  Norway,  Sweden,  Germany,  and  Italy,  tremors  were 
felt. 


11 G  OUTLINES   OF   GEONOMT. 

"  A  great  wave  swept  over  the  coast  of  Spain,  and  it 
is  said  to  have  been  sixty  feet  high  at  Cadiz.  At  Tan- 
gier, in  Africa,  it  rose  and  fell  eighteen  times  on  the 
coast.  In  Madeira  it  rose  full  fifteen  feet  perpendicular 
above  the  high-water  mark,  although  the  tide,  which 
ebbs  and  flows  there  seven  feet,  was  then  at  half  ebb. 
At  Kinsale,  in  Ireland,  a  body  of  water  rushed  into  the 
harbor,  whirled  round  several  vessels,  and  poured  into 
the  market  place. 

"The  sea  first  retired  at  Lisbon  ;  and  this  retreat  of 
the  ocean  from  the  shore  at  the  commencement  of  an 
earthquake,  and  its  subsequent  return  in  a  violent  wave, 
is  a  common  occurrence.  In  order  to  account  for  the 
phenomenon,  Mitchell  imagined  a  subsidence  at  the 
bottom  of  the  sea,  from  the  giving  way  of  the  roof  of 
some  cavity,  in  consequence  of  a  vacuum  produced  by 
the  condensation  of  steam." 

In  1751,  at  St.  Domingo,  twenty  leagues  of  the  coast 
sunk  down,  and  has  since  been  a  bay. 

Mr.  Lyell  says  that  "  in  the  earthquake  at  Chili,  in 
1822,  the  earth  was  elevated  over  an  area  of  one  hun- 
dred thousand  square  miles.  Mrs.  Graham  observed, 
after  the  earthquake  of  1822,  that,  besides  the  beach 
newly  raised  above  the  high- water  mark,  there  were 
several  older  elevated  lines  of  beach  one  above  the  other, 
consisting  of  shingle  mixed  with  shells,  extending  in  a 
parallel  direction  to  the  shore,  to  the  height  of  fifty 
feet  above  the  sea. 

"Assuming  the  great  pyramid  of  Egypt,  if  solid,  to 
weigh,  in  accordance  with  an  estimate  before  given,  six 
million  tons,  we  may  state  the  rock  added  to  the  con- 


117 

tinent  by  the  Chilian  earthquake  to  have  more  than 
equalled  one  hundred  thousand  pyramids. 

u  The  discharge  of  mud  in  one  year  by  the  Ganges 
equalled  the  weight  of  sixty  pyramids.  In  that  case  it 
would  require  seventeen  centuries  and  a  half  before  the 
river  .could  bear  down  from  the  continent  into  the  sea 
a  mass  equal  to  that  gained  by  the  Chilian  earthquake. 

"  Violent  earthquakes,  in  1812,  convulsed  the  valley  of 
the  Mississippi,  at  New  Madrid,  for  the  space  of  three 
hundred  miles  in  length.  As  this  happened  exactly  at 
the  same  time  as  the  great  earthquake  of  Caraccas,  it  is 
probable  that  these  two  points  are  parts  of  one  con- 
tinuous volcanic  region  ;  for  the  whole  circumference 
of  the  intervening  Caribbean  Sea  must  be  considered 
as  a  theatre  of  earthquakes  and  volcanoes.  On  the 
north  lies  the  Island  of  Jamaica,  which,  with  a  tract  of 
the  contiguous  sea,  has  often  experienced  tremendous 
shocks  ;  and  these  are  frequent  along  a  line  extending 
from  Jamaica  to  St.  Domingo  and  Porto  Rico.  On 
the  south  of  the  same  basin  the  shores  and  mountains 
of  Colombia  are  perpetually  convulsed.  On  the  west 
is  the  volcanic  chain  of  Guatimala  and  Mexico,  and  on 
the  east  the  West  India  Islands  —  St.  Vincent  and 
Guadaloupe."  The  same  region  has  been  shaken  again 
during  the  last  year,  (1857,)  and  a  few  weeks  afterwards 
shocks  were  felt  in  the  vicinity  of  Lake  Erie. 

The  probability  is,  that  the  slight  shocks  which  are 
felt  in  the  interior  of  basins,  like  the  Mississippi  valley, 
and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Caspian  Sea,  are  owing  to  de- 
pressions produced  by  the  gradual  accumulation  of 
sediment  by  the  rivers  in  the  deeper  and  more  central 


118  OUTLINES   OP   GEONOMY. 

portions  of  the  great  basin  or  valley,  the  weight  of 
which  occasionally  is  sufficient  to  cause  a  movement  of 
the  crust.  If  any  one  thinks  that  such  small  quantities 
of  detritus  are  insufficient  to  break  the  crust  of  the  earth, 
let  him  reflect  that  we  know  not  how  long  the  load  has 
been  accumulating,  and  that  the  state  of  the  balance 
may  be  such  that  it  only  requires  a  small  additional 
weight  to  turn  the  scale.  The  old  proverb  is  that  "  it 
is  the  last  feather  that  breaks  the  camel's  back." 

"In  1815  one  of  the  most  frightful  eruptions  recorded 
in  history  occurred  in  the  mountain  Tomboro,  in  the 
Island  of  Sumbawa.  It  began  on  the  5th  of  April,  and 
was  most  violent  on  the  11th  and  12th,  and  did  not  en- 
tirely cease  till  July.  The  sound  of  the  explosions  was 
heard  in  Sumatra,  at  the  distance  of  nine  hundred  and 
seventy  geographical  miles  in  a  direct  line,  and  at  Ter- 
nate,  in  an  opposite  direction,  at  the  distance  of  seven 
hundred  and  twenty  miles. 

11  The  area  over  which  tremulous  noises  and  other  vol- 
canic effects  extended,  was  one  thousand  English  miles 
in  circumference,  including  the  whole  of  the  Molucca 
Islands,  Java,  a  considerable  portion  of  Celebes,  Suma- 
tra, and  Borneo. 

"  In  October,  1746,  Peru  was  visited  by  an  earthquake 
which  is  declared  to  have  been  more  tremendous  and 
extensive  than  even  that  of  Lisbon  in  1755.  In  the 
first  twenty-four  hours,  two  hundred  shocks  were  expe- 
rienced. The  ocean  twice  retired,  and  returned  impet- 
uously upon  the  land  ;  Lima  was  destroyed,  and  part 
of  the  coast  near  Callao  was  converted  into  a  bay  ;  four 
other  harbors,  among  which  were  Cavalla  and  Gua- 
nape,  shared  the  same  fate. 


LOWLANDS,"  PLATEAUS,   AND   MOUNTAINS.  119 

"  The  volcanoes  of  Iceland  have  been  in  activity  ever 
since  the  island  was  discovered,  in  the  ninth  century. 
Hecla,  though  not  the  most  considerable  of  these,  from 
its  position  and  its  former  activity,  is  the  best  known. 
It  has  had  many  formidable  eruptions,  twenty-two  of 
which  have  been  noted  in  about  eight  hundred  years  ; 
and  in  the  same  period  we  have  notices  of  twenty  erup- 
tions from  five  other  Icelandic  volcanoes.  A  succession 
of  eruptions  of  Hecla  lasted  for  six  years  ;  but  the  most 
severe  convulsions  of  that  country  happened  in  1783, 
when  the  dreadful  eruption  of  the  Skaptar  Yokul  burst 
forth,  and  did  not  cease  till  the  following  year.  About 
a  month  before  this  terrible  catastrophe,  a  submarine  vol- 
cano elevated  the  crater  of  Nyoe*,  seventy  miles  south- 
west of  Cape  Reikianes,  and  threw  out  such  an  immense 
quantity  of  scoriae  as  to  cover  the  sea,  to  the  distance 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  with  a  stream  which  im- 
peded the  progress  of  ships  making  the  island  ;  and 
portions  of  this  eruption  floated  as  far  as  the  Shetland 
and  Orkney  Islands.  Nyoe  emitted  smoke  and  scoria 
from  several  apertures  ;  but  within  a  year  the  island 
disappeared,  and  a  shoal  marks  its  former  site.  On  the 
8th  of  June  the  Skaptar  Yokul  threw  out  smoke  ;  on 
the  10th  an  enormous  current  of  molten  lava  flowed 
from  numerous  cones  on  the  Yokul,  which,  dividing  into 
two  main  streams,  pursued  its  course  to  the  sea,  filling 
up  the  beds  of  two  large  rivers,  and  covering  an  im- 
mense extent  of  once  productive  country.  The  horrors 
of  the  scene  were  aggravated  by  the  enormous  torrents 
of  boiling  water  produced  by  the  liquefaction  of  the 
glaciers  that  covered   the  Yokul,  and    by  incessant 


120  OUTLINES    OF  GEONOMY. 

showers  of  ashes,  which  darkened  the  sun ;  stream  of 
lava  succeeded  stream  from  the  10th  of  June  to  the  end 
of  August,  at  short  intervals  ;  and  noxious  emanations 
destroyed  numbers  of  those  whom  fire  and  water  had 
spared.  From  this  calamity  Iceland  has  never  recov- 
ered ;  for  within  the  space  of  two  years  the  island,  in 
consequence  of  this  eruption,  lost  nine  thousand  three 
hundred  and  thirty-six  persons,  eleven  thousand  four 
hundred  and  sixty  head  of  cattle,  twenty-eight  thousand 
horses,  and  one  hundred  and  ninety  thousand  four  hun- 
dred and  eighty  sheep.  The  extent  of  the  principal 
stream  of  lava  is  fifty  miles  in  length  ;  its  greatest 
breadth  is  from  twelve  to  fifteen  miles  ;  in  the  plains  its 
general  depth  is  one  hundred  feet,  but  in  the  channel 
of  the  Skapta  River,  which  it  dried  up,  it  is  six  hundred 
feet  in  perpendicular  depth.  The  south-western  side  of 
Iceland  appears  to  be  one  vast  focus  of  subterranean 
fire  ;  for  the  several  eruptions  of  the  Oraefa,  the  Skei- 
dera,  Sida,  and  Skaptar  Yokuls,  seem  but  as  occasional 
outbreakings  from  one  immense  volcanic  fissure,  which 
really  belongs  to  the  same  chain  of  icy  mountains."  — 
Dr.  Traill. 


RELATION  OF  OCEAN  CURRENTS  TO  GEOGRAPHY.  121 


SECTION  YII  . 

RELATION  OF  THE  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  OCEAN 
CURRENTS   TO  GEOGRAPHY. 

The  fact  being  admitted  that  earthquakes,  volcanoes, 
and  mountains  are  caused  by  the  downward  tendency 
of  the  ocean's  bed,  we  shall  be  led  to  inquire  into  the 
detailed  effects  upon  the  forms  of  the  land  and  the  sea. 
We  shall  be  curious  to  ascertain  the  situation  of  the 
sea  or  lake  that  produced  each  particular  mountain,  to 
trace,  in  the  curves  and  slopes  of  the  mountain  ranges, 
the  direction  of  the  ocean  currents  that  produced  their 
upheaval. 

In  this  general  outline  it  cannot  be  expected  that  I 
shall  do  more  than  indicate  the  course  of  study  and 
observation  which  must  be  pursued  in  future ;  but  a 
key  to  physical  geography  is  given  when  it  is  ascer- 
tained that  all  elevations  are  but  the  reactions  of  cor- 
responding depressions  ;  that  Asia,  Europe,  and  North 
America  are  three  elevated  and  extinct  ellipses  ;  and 
that  Africa,  South  America,  Australia,  and  Greenland 
are  portions  or  fragments  of  ellipses,  or  else  they  are 
interspaces  situated  between  several  great  ellipses, 
most  of  which  are  still  continuing  their  circuits,  bear- 
ing in  the  bosom  of  their  waters  the  detrital  elements 
that  give  energy  to  earthquakes,  supply  the  fires  of 
slumbering  volcanoes,  elevate  the  surfaces  of  continents, 
and  contract  the  boundaries  of  oceans. 
11 


122  OUTLINES  OF  GEONOMY. 

A  few  elements  of  a  planet  and  its  orbit  being  known, 
astronomers  are  enabled  to  determine  its  whole  path,  and 
its  relations  to*  other  orbits  with  great  precision.  The 
same  appears  to  be  now  true  of  the  elements  of  oceanic 
ellipses,  which  the  forms  of  the  land  present  to  us  as 
indications  of  the  entire  paths  pursued  by  the  currents 
that  gave  birth  to  those  forms.  The  sea  is  poetically 
characterized  as  the  emblem  of  inconstancy;  but  the 
laws  which  govern  the  movements  of  the  sea  are  as  un- 
changing as  gravitation,  though  they  have  not  hereto- 
fore been  understood.  It  is  the  land,  rather  than  the 
sea,  that,  geologically  considered,  is  subject  to  change  ; 
for  the  ocean  currents  mould  the  surface  of  the  earth 
into  correspondence  and  subordination  to  themselves, 
and  pursue  a  course  determined  by  astronomic  forces, 
over  which  the  earth  has  no  essential  influence. 

It  must  be  evident  that  if  the  principles  which  I  am 
advocating  are  to  be  relied  upon,  the  inequalities  of 
surface  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea  are  mere  continuations 
and  repetitions  of  those  seen  upon  the  dry  land ;  and 
if  the  whole  ocean  could  be  drained,  and  then  carefully 
surveyed,  what  we  call  the  dry  land  would  be  found  to 
be  but  the  segments  or  highest  portions  of  a  regular 
system  of  reliefs  produced  by  elliptical  currents. 

I  earnestly  hope  that  by  the  liberality  of  our  govern- 
ment the  ocean  depths  throughout  the  world  will  soon 
be  known,  so  far,  at  least,  as  may  be  necessary  for  scien- 
tific and  practical  purposes.  When  that  knowledge  is 
obtained,  I  expect  that  the  islands  of  the  great  Pacific 
will  be  proved  to  be  the  tops  of  mountain  ranges,  which 
are  the  borders  of  definite  marine  ellipses,  analogous 


RELATION   OF  OCEAN   CURRENTS  TO   GEOGRAPHY.    123 

in  outline  to  the  mountains  of  the  dry  land.  It  is  not 
unreasonable  to  suppose  that  then  we  shall  be  able  to 
predict  the  elevation  of  lands  and  the  breaking  out  of 
volcanoes  in  regions  where  nothing  of  the  kind  is  now 
anticipated.  Mankind  will  then  learn  to  regard  such 
movements  as  but  a  part  of  the  progressive  system  of 
nature,  dependent,  like  tempests  and  thunder  storms, 
upon  a  disturbance  of  elements  which  are  known,  and 
which  science  can  subject  to  the  ordeal  of  mathematical 
calculation. 

If  we  look  at  a  curious  map  of  the  bed  of  the  At- 
lantic, published  by  Lieutenant  Maury  in  his  "  Physical 
Geography  of  the  Sea,"  we  may  observe  that  a  sub- 
marine continent  is  forming  in  the  middle  of  that  vast 
lower  region,  which,  in  form,  bears  a  striking  resem- 
blance to  Italy,  and,  like  that  beautiful  peninsula,  it 
resembles  a  human  leg  and  foot  in  its  outlines,  with  its 
sole  and  heel  towards  the  equator,  and  its  toe  pointing 
towards  the  west.  The  depressions  around  it  are  also 
analogous  to  the  marine  basins  around  Italy.  The 
Gulf  of  Venice,  the  Bay  of  Sicily  and  Naples,  and  the 
Gulf  of  Taranto  have  their  analogues  here.  We  may 
also  notice  its  resemblance  to  New  Zealand,  and  that  it 
is  literally  its  antipode,  the  forms  being  exactly  the 
reverse  of  each  other. 

Are  these  beautiful  analogies  meaningless,  or  do  they 
rather  speak  with  the  irresistible  logic  of  nature,  to 
teach  us  that  similar  causes  operated  to  produce  similar 
forms  ?  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  part  of  the 
Atlantic's  bed  which  must  receive  the  greatest  quantity 
of  detritus  and  sediment,  instead  of  being  the  most 


124  OUTLINES   OP   GEONOMY. 

elevated,  is  actually  the  most  depressed.  Now,  since  it 
is  well  known  that  it  is  not  worn  by  the  currents,  it 
must  be  sunken  by  its  own  weight. 

Lieutenant  Maury  manifests  a  singular  power  of  ob- 
servation, combined  with  an  admirable  sagacity,  in  the 
following  remarks,  which  I  take  the  liberty  to'  quote 
from  his  useful  and  elegant  treatise  on  the  Physical 
Geography  of  the  Sea,  p.  252. 

"  To  measure  the  elevation  of  the  mountain  tops 
above  the  sea,  and  to  lay  down  upon  our  maps  the 
mountain  ranges  of  the  earth,  is  regarded  in  geography 
as  an  important  thing,  and  rightly  so.  Equally  im- 
portant is  it  in  bringing  the  physical  geography  of  the 
sea  regularly  within  the  domain  of  science,  to  present 
its  orography,  by  mapping  out  the  bottom  of  the  ocean 
so  as  to  show  the  depressions  of  the  solid  parts  of  the 
earth's  crust  there  below  the  sea  level. 

"  What  is  to  be  the  use  of  these  deep  sea  soundings  ? 
is  a  question  that  often  occurs  ;  and  it  is  as  difficult  to 
be  answered,  in  categorical  terms,  as  Franklin's  ques- 
tion, What  is  the  use  of  a  new-born  babe  ?  Every  phys- 
ical fact,  every  expression  of  nature,  every  feature  of  the 
earth,  the  work  of  any  and  all  of  those  agents  which 
make  the  face  of  the  world  what  it  is,  and  as  we  see 
it,  is  interesting  and  instructive.  Until  we  get  hold  of  a 
group  of  physical  facts,  we  do  not  know  what  practical 
bearings  they  may  have,  though  right-minded  men  know 
that  they  contain  many  precious  jewels,  which  science 
or  the  expert  hand  of  philosophy  will  not  fail  to  bring 
out,  polished,  and  bright,  and  beautifully  adapted  to 
man's  purposes.     Already  we  are  obtaining  practical 


RELATION  OF  OCEAN  CURRENTS  TO  GEOGRAPHY.  125 

answers  to  this  question  as  to  the  use  of  deep  sea 
soundings  ;  for  as  soon  as  they  were  announced  to  the 
public,  they  forthwith  assumed  a  practical  bearing  in 
the  minds  of  men  with  regard  to  the  question  of  a 
submarine  telegraph  across  the  Atlantic. 

"  There  is  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  between  Cape 
Race  in  Newfoundland  and  Cape  Clear  in  Ireland,  a 
remarkable  steppe,  which  is  already  known  as  the  tel- 
egraphic plateau. 

"  There  appears  to  be,  corresponding  to  this  elevation 
of  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  a  ridge  on  the  land,  which 
runs  nearly,  if  not  entirely,  around  the  earth.  Leaving 
this  continent  between  the  parallels  of  forty-five  de- 
grees and  fifty  degrees  north,  the  British  Islands  are 
within  its  range.  Passing  thence  to  the  continent,  we 
recognize  it  in  the  great  '  divide/  which  separates  the 
drainage  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  from  the  drainage  of  the 
south.  In  Asia  it  rises  up  into  a  chain  of  steppes  and 
mountains,  extending  across  that  continent  from  west  to 
east,  and  disappearing  on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific. 
We  do  not  know  how  it  is  at  the  bottom  of  the 
1  Grand  Ocean  ; '  but  the  chain  of  Aleutian  Islands, 
rising  out  of  the  water  midway  between  Asia  and  Amer- 
ica, seem  to  suggest  that  it  is  there  also.  However, 
if  we  run  the  eye  along  to  America,  we  shall  perceive 
again,  as  soon  as  we  come  to  this  continent,  indications 
of  this  ridge,  which  divides  the  waters  that  flow  from 
the  north  from  those  that  seek  the  ocean  in  more  south- 
ern latitudes." 

The  explanation  that  geonomic  principles  give  to  the 
"  remarkable  steppe "  in  the  sea  and  "  ridge  on  the 
11* 


126  OUTLINES  OF  GEONOMY. 

land,"  which  Lieutenant  Maury  describes  so  well,  is, 
that  the  northern  and  southern  oceans  have  antagonized 
each  other  in  the  northern  hemisphere,  and  produced  the 
elevation  of  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  and  this  ridge  on 
the  land  betweeen  them,  which  "  runs  nearly,  if  not  en- 
tirely, around  the  earth,"  parallel  with  the  Polar  Sea, 
and  also  with  the  ancient  sea  that  formerly  washed  the 
southern  side  of  the  annular  ridge.  Geonomy  requires 
that  there  should  be  a  predominance  of  east  and  west 
elevations  and  ridges  near  the  equator  and  near  the 
poles  ;  but  between  these  two  annular  ridges  there  should 
be  a  succession  of  north  and  south  elevations.  Geog- 
raphy demonstrates  that  the  elevations  actually  exist  in 
accordance  with  the  requirements  of  this  law. 

In  looking  at  the  map  of  the  world  we  find  that  all 
the  large  level  plains  are  in  the  middle  of  ellipses,  or 
they  are  between  ellipses  ;  in  other  words,  they  are  in 
situations  where  the  circulation  of  the  currents  could 
not  produce  subsidences  and  elevations :  thus,  Asia 
constitutes  a  great  circular  basin,  the  southern  and  east- 
ern edges  of  which  are  elevated  into  a  series  of  enor- 
mous, nearly  parallel  ridges,  which  correspond  in  direc- 
tion with  the  course  which  the  ocean  currents  must  have 
pursued  when  the  land  was  the  ocean's  bed,  and  was 
gradually  rising.  It  is  evident  that  these  mountain 
ranges  were  produced  by  a  series  of  subsidences,  which 
commenced  at  the  Altai,  and  proceeded  southward  to 
the  Himalaya,  continually  increasing  in  height  as  they 
proceeded. 

"  The  most  ancient  chains  are  the  least  elevated  ; 
while  the  colossal  grandeur  of  the  Andes  and  the  Him- 


RELATION  OP  OCEAN  CURRENTS  TO  GEOGRAPHY.  12T 

alaya  bear  the  traces  of  an  upheaval  comparatively  very 
recent.  In  America,  from  the  coasts  of  Brazil  to  the 
hi«;h  table  lands  of  Bolivia,  and  from  the  Atlantic 
shores  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  ;  in  Europe,  from  the 
mountains  of  Scandinavia  to  the  summit  of  the  Alps,  we 
meet  with  upheavings  successively  less  ancient."  — 
Professor  Guyot's  Earth  and  Man. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  basin  there  is  a  series  of 
low  elevations  which  have  an  east  and  west  direction  ; 
but  they  are  so  low,  so  barren  and  cold,  that  they  have 
scarcely  been  noticed  by  geographers.  They  are  low 
because  they  have  been  produced  by  seas  that  are  of 
limited  dimensions,  when  compared  with  the  vast  areas 
of  the  Pacific  and  the  Indian  Oceans. 

On  the  western  side  is  a  range  of  mountains  which 
extend  from  the  Caspian  Sea  to  Nova  Zembla,  a  distance 
of  seventeen  hundred  miles,  in  a  north  and  south  direc- 
tion generally,  but  curving  to  the  west  at  the  southern 
extremity  of  the  chain,  and  to  the  east  at  the  northern 
extremity.  This  is  the  Oural  chain,  which  divides  the 
Asiatic  basin  from  the  European.  Between  four  sys- 
tems of  elevation,  namely,  the  Aldan  Mountains  on  the 
east,  the  Altai  on  the  south,  the  Oural  on  the  west,  and 
the  Arctic  shore  on  the  north,  is  a  vast  level  plain  — 
the  largest  in  the  world.  Why  should  it  not  be  level? 
No  currents  have  ever  crossed  it  to  deposit  layers  and 
strata  of  sediment,  the  weight  of  which  could  break  the 
earth's  crust.  The  currents  circulated  around  it,  and 
left  its  surface  unbroken. 

Look  now  at  the  European  basin,  and  observe  how 
analogous  it  is  to  that  of  Asia  ;  yet  in  some  details  how 


128  OUTLINES  OF  GEONOMY. 

different  and  diminutive  !  Instead  of  the  Aldan  Moun- 
tains on  its  eastern  border,  it  has  the  Oural ;  instead  of 
the  Himalaya  and  Hindoo  Kosh  on  the  south,  it  has  the 
Caucasus  and  the  Carpathians  ;  instead  of  the  Chinese, 
Bengal,  and  Arabian  Seas,  and  the  peninsulas  of  Siam, 
India,  and  Arabia,  it  has  the  deep  basins  of  the  Caspian, 
the  Euxine,  and  the  Eastern  Mediterranean,  with  the 
peninsulas  of  Asia  Minor,  Greece,  and  Italy.  Instead 
of  having  the  Ourals  on  the  western  border,  Europe  has 
the  Scandinavians.  Spain,  France,  and  Great  Britain 
belong  to  the  North  Atlantic  basin,  and  not  to  the  Eu- 
ropean. This  is  evident  from  the  directions  of  their 
mountains,  and  their  correspondence  with  the  eastern 
segments  of  the  North  Atlantic  ellipse.  But  let  us  re- 
turn to  view  the  European  basin,  which,  like  Asia,  has  a 
succession  of  nearly  parallel  ridges  on  its  southern  bor- 
der, but  is  bounded  east  and  west  by  simple  north  and 
south  ranges.  Like  Asia,  its  greatest  elevation  is  at  the 
south,  and  declines  gradually  to  the  Frozen  Ocean. 
The  North  Sea  and  the  Baltic  are  the  depressed  por- 
tions of  the  European  basin.  So  the  Aral  Sea  and  the 
Caspian  are  the  most  depressed  parts  of  Asia.  The 
great  plain  of  Asia  is  between  the  ranges  of  the  Oural, 
the  Altai,  and  the  Aldan.  So  the  great  plain  of  Eu- 
rope is  between  the  Scandinavian,  the  Carpathian,  and 
the  Oural ;  except  the  trifling  elevation  of  the  Yaldai, 
there  is  nothing  to  indicate  a  rupture  of  the  earth's 
crust  in  this  vast  interior  of  the  European  ellipse.  All 
around  it  the  crust  is  broken  up  like' the  ground  in  a 
circus  ring. 
The  Mediterranean  and  Caspian  Seas  were  formerly 


RELATION  OF  OCEAN  CURRENTS  TO  GEOGRAPHY.  129 

the  channel  of  the  European  ellipse,  and  though  the 
influence  of  the  large  oceans  has  elevated  the  land  all 
around  them,  they  still  continue  to  accumulate  detritus 
and  sediment,  and  to  sink  deeper,  while  the  countries  in 
the  vicinity  are  kept  in  constant  dread  of  the  earth- 
quakes and  volcanoes  which  the  reaction  of  their  sub- 
sidences produce.  In  the  same  manner  the  Mexican 
and  Caribbean  Seas,  though  gradually  narrowing  and 
closing,  do  not  abandon  the  ground  without  a  struggle, 
which  is  attested  by  the  numerous  volcanoes  that  encir- 
cle its  basins,  and  the  dreadful  earthquakes  that  devas- 
tate its  shores.  In  the  East  Indies  the  same  principles 
are  illustrated  in  a  still  more  powerful  manner  by  the 
circle  of  volcanic  fire  that  is  drawn  around  the  ellipti- 
cal channels  near  the  East  Indian  islands.  The  law 
seems  to  be,  that  the  channels  shall  continue  to  sink  as 
long  as  they  can  obtain  sediment  enough  to  break  the 
crust ;  and  it  will  be  broken  the  more  easily  for  being 
frequently  ruptured  ;  but  between  the  channels  the  land 
may  rise  to  maintain  the  equilibrium. 

There  is  a  peculiarity  in  the  region  of  the  Caspian  and 
Aral  Seas  that  is  finely  illustrative  of  the  geonomic 
theory,  which  is,  that  the  surface  of  the  land  is  below 
the  surface  level  of  the  surrounding  seas.  It  seems 
that  the  oceans  have  caused  the  elevation  of  the  land 
around  the  basin,  and  cut  it  off  from  all  communication 
with  the  open  sea.  Being  in  a  temperate  climate,  the  wa- 
ter which  was  thus  left  enclosed  by  elevations  has  been 
evaporated  away,  except  that  which  is  now  found  in  the 
Aral  and  Caspian  Seas,  and  a  number  of  small 
lakes.      It  is  said  that  earthquakes  frequently  disturb 


130  OUTLINES   OF   GEONOMY. 

this  region.  Why,  then,  do  they  not  elevate  it  at  least 
to  a  level  with  the  ocean  ?  The  answer  is,  that  subsi- 
dence is  the  only  means  of  elevation,  and  of  course  that 
cannot  elevate  the  lowed  place.  To  accomplish  the  ele- 
vation of  the  Caspian  or  the  Mediterranean,  a  "  lower 
deep  n  must  be  made,  to  crowd  the  lava  beneath  the 
crust  on  which  the  Caspian  rests.  Instead  of  the  Cas- 
pian rising,  it  is  probably  sinking,  and  thus  raising  the 
land  around  it,  producing  slight  earthquakes  as  it 
does  so. 

The  Adriatic  and  the  Euxine  have,  like  the  Mediter- 
ranean, been  for  a  long  time  sinking  in  the  same  man- 
ner, and  occasionally  causing  elevations  and  eruptions 
which  have  given  birth  to  the  Apennines,  the  Alps, 
the  Taurus*  the  Balkan,  and  Caucasian  Mountains. 
We  know  but  little  of  Africa ;  but  what  we  do  know 
tends  to  show  that  its  creation  and  elevation  is  compar- 
atively modern.  The  probability  is,  that  at  the  time 
that  the  mountains  around  the  Mediterranean  were  ele- 
vated above  the  surface  of  the  ocean,  most  of  Africa 
was  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  If  Africa  had  not  risen 
and  limited  the  area  of  the  Mediterranean,  the  moun- 
tains of  Southern  Europe  would  have  been  higher  than 
the  Himalaya.  Arabia  appears  to  be  an  inter-land, 
which  is  nearly  level  from  the  want  of  a  large  ocean  on 
any  of  its  borders.  When  any  land  is  surrounded  by 
seas  which  are  nearly  of  equal  size,  it  must  necessarily 
be  almost  a  level  country  ;  though,  if  the  seas  are  large, 
it  may  be  elevated  into  a  level  table  land. 

The  North  American  basin  is  formed  on  the  same 
principles  as  Asia  and  Europe,     It  has  three  oceans, 


RELATION  OF  OCEAN  CURRENTS  TO  GEOGRAPHY.   131 

and  three  corresponding  s)Tstems  of  elevations  on  its 
borders  —  the  Appalachians  and  Ozark  on  the  east,  the 
Rocky  on  the  west,  and  the  low  Lawrentine  range  on 
the  north.  Between  these  three,  in  the  interior,  is  the 
vast  level  plain  called  the  great  valley  of  the  Mississippi. 

North  America  differs  from  Asia  in  the  fact  that  the 
abrupt  declivities  are  on  the  western  side  in  America, 
and  on  the  eastern  in  Asia  ;  but  otherwise  it  greatly  re- 
sembles it. 

Greenland,  South  America,  Africa,  and  Australia  are 
four  continental  areas  of  land,  which  are  not,  and  never 
were  ellipses,  but  are  situated,  between  them.  Green- 
land is  between  three  seas,  the  Arctic,  the  North  At- 
lantic, and  Baffin's  Bay,  which  is  really  a  sea.  South 
America  is  between  the  North  Atlantic,  the  South  At- 
lantic, and  the  South  Pacific  ;  Africa  between  the  North 
Atlantic  and  Mediterranean,  the  South  Atlantic,  the  In- 
dian Ocean,  and  the  Red  Sea. 

Australia  is  situated  between  the  Indian  Ocean  and 
the  Java  Sea  on  the  west  and  north,  the  North  Pacific 
on  the  north-east,  the  New  Zealand  Sea  and  South  Pa- 
cific on  the  south-east,  and  a  small  oceanic  ellipse  which 
I  will  call  the  Tasmanian,  on  the  south.  The  most  im- 
portant fact  to  be  noticed  in  relation  to  these  inter- 
lands  is,  that  they  are,  without  exception,  the  most  ele- 
vated on  the  side  which  borders  upon  the  largest  ocean. 
Thus  Australia,  Africa,  and  Greenland  are  most  elevat- 
ed on  their  eastern  sides,  and  South  America  on  the  west- 
ern. Australia  is  the  least  elevated  on  the  south  ;  Af- 
rica and  South  America  on  the  north. 

What  are  called  the  trade  winds  blow  from  near  the 


132  OUTLINES   OF   GEONOMY. 

thirtieth  degree  of  latitude  to  the  equator,  in  a  western 
direction,  and  carry  with  them  the  moisture  which  pro- 
duces fertility.  Those  lands,  therefore,  which  have 
their  largest  ocean,  and  consequently  their  highest  lands, 
on  the  eastern  border,  as  Australia,  Africa,  and  Asia  have, 
will  have  large  barren  deserts  in  their  western  parts  ; 
but  those  lands  which,  like  South  America,  have  the 
largest  ocean  on  the  western  borders,  will  have  their 
larger  mountains  on  their  western  border  also  ;  so  that 
the  moist  winds  from  the  south-east  will  pass  over  the 
larger  part  of  the  land  before  they  reach  the  mountains, 
and  are  arrested  and  robbed  of  their  fertilizing  moist- 
ure. This  is  the  reason  of  the  smallness  of  the  deserts 
in  South  America,  compared  with  those  of  other  coun- 
tries. 

In  the  extreme  southern  part  of  the  southern  ellipses 
there  is  so  little  known  of  the  submarine  forms,  that  we 
are  left  almost  entirely  to  conjecture  from  analogy.  I 
presume  that  the  Lagullas  bank,  which  is  a  submarine 
plateau  south-east  of  Good  Hope,  is  an  inter-elliptic  ele- 
vation analogous  to  the  banks  of  Newfoundland.  I  also 
regard  the  islands  at  the  south-east  of  Patagonia  as  of 
the  same  character,  and  as  indicating  the  eastern  course 
of  the  current  there. 

It  is  remarked  by  many  physical  geographers  that 
the  principal  mountains  of  the  eastern  continent  run 
east  and  west,  and  of  the  American  continent  north  and 
south.  This  is  true  if  we  confine  our  observations  to 
the  higher  class  of  elevations,  and  to  the  dry  land  ; 
but  if  we  view  the  matter  philosophically,  and  consider 
the  submarine  ridges  and  elevations  as  continuations  of 


RELATION  OF  OCEAN  CURRENTS  TO  GEOGRAPHY.   133 

those  above  the  surface  of  the  sea,  we  must  conclude 
that  the  prevalence  of  ranges  of  mountains  in  any  one 
particular  direction  is  only  apparent. 

The  extraordinary  elevation  of  the  lands  of  the  old 
continent  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  great  Indian 
Ocean  bathes  the  southern  shores  of  Asia,  and  by  its 
subsidences  causes  the  elevation  of  the  mountains  in 
an  east  and  west  direction  ;  whereas,  in  America,  the 
great  Pacific  Ocean,  both  north  and  south,  bathes  the 
western  shores  for  eight  thousand  miles,  and  produces 
abrupt  slopes  and  high  mountains  continuously  the 
whole  distance. 

It  must  also  be  remarked  that  Asia  and  Europe  are 
united  at  the  Oural  Mountains,  so  as  to  bring  two 
drained  ellipses  together,  and  make  the  continent  con- 
tinuous from  Kamschatka  west  to  Iceland,  a  distance 
which  extends  nearly  half  round  the  earth,  at  the 
arctic  circle.  This  union  of  Asia  and  Europe  gives  an 
appearance  of  great  extension  in  an  eastern  and  west- 
ern direction.  The  fact,  also,  that  the  Indian  Ocean 
and  the  Mediterranean  combine  to  elevate  the  land  on 
the  south  produces  the  appearances  that  are  peculiar  to 
the  eastern  continent,  and  which  have  hitherto  remained 
without  an  explanation. 

The  rule  appears  to  be,  that  the  directions  of  the  cur- 
rents determine,  in  all  cases,  the  directions  of  the 
mountains  ;  and  the  size  of  the  contiguous  ocean,  all 
else  equal,  determines  the  size  of  the  mountains.  The 
condition  of  "  all  else  equal  "  must  be  continually  borne 
in  mind,  for  it  is  not  in  reality  the  ocean  itself  directly 
that  produces  the  elevation  of  the  mountains,  but  the 
12 


134  OUTLINES   OF   GEONOMY. 

detritus  which  the  ocean  gathers  from  its  shores  and 
its  bed,  and  deposits  in  different  quantities  in  different 
places,  according  to  circumstances.  In  some  places,  as 
in  the  Mediterranean,  for  instance,  the  subsidence  has 
been  very  great,  in  consequence  not  so  much  of  the 
present  size  of  the  sea,  as  the  concentration  of  deposits 
in  one  great  sink. 

If  we  adopt  the  idea  of  Professor  Guyot,  that  Italy 
and  Cape  Bon  together  may  be  considered  as  equiva- 
lent or  analogous  to  the  Central  American  isthmus, 
then  we  may  regard  the  great  circle  of  the  Alps  as  the 
former  shores  of  a  basin  analogous  in  form  and  position 
to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  peculiar  forms  and  curves 
of  the  Alps  are  thus  accounted  for.  We  must  not  allow 
ourselves  to  be  misled  by  the  great  elevation  of  the 
Alps  compared  with  the  shores  of  the  Mexican  Gulf,  for 
the  degree  of  elevation  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  form 
of  a  country. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  Fremont's  Basin  was  once  as 
low  as  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  performed  a  similar 
function.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  Himalayas  and 
the  plateau  of  Tibet.  They  both  were  once  basins, 
and  constituted  the  turning  points  of  ancient  elliptical 
currents,  and  were  gradually  filled,  abandoned,  and 
elevated  by  the  action  of  the  powerful  oceans  around 
them.  The  Gulf  of  Mexico  is  going  through  the  same 
process  ;  the  time  will  come  when  Florida  will  have 
mountains  like  those  of  Greece,  and  Texas  will  have 
Alps  more  exalted  than  those  of  Switzerland.  Then 
will  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  be  a  desert,  and  the 
plains  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska  rival  the  frozen  steppes 
of  Siberia. 


RELATION  OF  OCEAN  CURRENTS  TO  GEOGRAPHY.   135 

We  observe,  in  looking  at  a  map  of  the  world,  that 
there  are  three  analogous  southern  continents,  namely, 
Africa,  South  America,  and  Australia.  It  is  near  the 
northern  borders  of  these  that  *the  greatest  number  of 
volcanoes  are  found,  in  the  vicinity  of  three  isthmuses, 
—  one  of  which  is  submarine,  —  that  unite  them  with 
the  three  northern  continents,  from  which  they  are  par- 
tially separated  by  three  archipelagoes.  In  other 
words,  there  are  three  pairs  of  continents,  and  in  each 
pair  the  region  which  is  most  volcanic  is  that  which  is 
intermediate,  and  is  occupied  by  an  archipelago. 

Let  us  notice,  that  next  to  the  three  tropical  inter- 
continental archipelagoes,  in  volcanic  and  geonomical 
importance,  are  the  two  arctic  archipelagoes,  which 
are  also  inter-continental :  one,  the  Iceland  and  Faroe, 
is  between  Europe  and  America,  and  the  other,  the 
Aleutian,  between  Asia  and  America.  They  occupy 
the  only  situations  of  importance  where  the  inter-con- 
tinental currents  turn  from  the  arctic  to  go  southward. 
It  must  be  remarked  that  they  have  their  analogues  in 
the  antarctic  region,  where  Mount  Terror  and  Mount 
Erebus  illuminate  the  regions  of  eternal  winter,  and 
where  the  southern  ellipses  turn  to  carry  cooling 
streams  to  the  tropics. 

The  rocky  ridges,  which  are  found  to  run  parallel 
to  most  large  rivers  and  lakes,  were  doubtless  caused 
by  the  sinking  of  their  beds  while  they  were  ocean 
channels.  The  fact  pointed  out  by  Professor  H.  D. 
Rogers,  that  the  Appalachian  chain  is  divisible  into 
eleven  groups,  each  of  which  is  composed  of  a  succes- 
sion of  mountains,  of  various  dimensions,  but  all  more 


136  OUTLINES  OF  GEONOMY. 

nearly  parallel  to  each  other  than  to  those  of  other 
groups  in  the  chain,  is  perfectly  consistent  with  the 
theory  of  their  origin  which  I  am  advancing,  and  I 
think  that  it  will  be  found  that  each  group  or  section 
of  the  great  Appalachian  chain,  however  much  it  may 
differ  from  the  other  groups  in  direction,  is  generally 
parallel,  or  nearly  so,  with  the  nearest  ocean  shore  and 
channel.  In  other  words,  the  whole  chain  of  moun- 
tains is  generally  nearly  parallel  with  the  whole  coast 
line,  and  each  group  of  the  chain  is  nearly  parallel  with 
the  part  of  the  coast  line  nearest  to  it. 

The  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  mountains  of  Central 
America  afford  a  good  illustration  of  the  production 
of  elevations  in  conformity  with  currents.  The  form 
of  the  gulf  is  precisely  such  as  the  action  of  currents 
of  water  would  naturally  create,  and  yet  we  find  it  sur- 
rounded by  mountains  which  water  could  not  produce, 
except  by  the  weight  of  detritus  and  the  reaction  of 
gravitation.  If  we  look  at  such  a  place  as  Cape  Cod, 
and  its  bay,  which  is  formed  entirely  of  sand,  scooped 
out,  as  it  were,  by  water  power,  and  then  compare  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  with  it,  we  shall  perceive  that  they 
both  appear  to  be  formed  on  the  same  plan,  and  by  the 
same  aqueous  causes,  with  this  difference,  that  after  the 
Mexican  Gulf  was  laid  out,  and  its  shores  as  far 
advanced  towards  completion  as  Cape  Cod  is  now, 
the  subsidence  of  its  bed  raised  a  number  of  ridges 
of  rocky  heights  along  its  shores  and  around  its  basin. 
No  other  conceivable  force  would  be  likely  to  raise 
mountain  chains  in  such  curves  as  to  correspond  with  a 
water-made  bay. 


RELATION  OF  OCEAN  CURRENTS  TO  GEOGRAPHY.   137 

We  shall  find,  upon  a  correct  application  of  geonomic 
principles,  that  the  form  of  the  gulf  and  the  direction 
of  the  mountains  around  it  in  Yucatan,  the  isthmus, 
Cuba,  and  Mexico,  are  the  results  of  depressions  pro- 
duced by  the  detritus  that  has  been  so  long  pouring 
into  that  great  focus  of  the  Atlantic  currents.  The 
modern  volcanoes  that  have  arisen  in  this  region  will 
probably  be  hereafter  proved  to  be  but  a  continuation 
of  a  system  of  geonomic  reactions,  which  commenced  in 
the  beginning  of  terrestrial  time.  It  will  be  found 
that  all  the  short  curved  or  elliptical  ranges  of  moun- 
tains, in  the  interior  of  the  continents,  are  now,  or 
once  were,  the  borders  of  bays,  lakes,  or  inland  seas ; 
while  the  long,  nearly  straight  ranges,  like  the  Andes, 
were  produced  by  the  main  channel,  which  constitutes 
the  long  side  of  some  great  ellipse. 

Nearly  all  peninsulas  are  formed  upon  one  principle, 
by  the  opposition  of  two  currents,  one  of  which  is  forced 
to  turn  out  of  its  course  and  in  some  degree  turn  back 
and  double  on  itself.*  Accordingly,  we  find  peninsulas 
most  developed  where  currents  turn  and  encounter  other 
currents  ;  thus  Alaska  seems  to  be  formed  by  the  cur- 
rent through  Behring's  Strait  into  the  Pacific,  being 
turned  or  reflected  south-west  towards  the  eastern  shore 
of  Asia.  Lower  California  appears  to  be  formed  by 
the  current  from  the  south,  being  driven  in  shore  by 

*  The  tendency  of  the  land  to  assume  a  peninsular  form  is  very  remark- 
able, and  it  is  still  more  so  that  almost  all  the  peninsulas  tend  to  the  south 
—  circumstances  that  depend  upon  some  unknown  cause,  which  seems  to 
have  acted  very  extensively.  — Mrs.  Somerville. 

12* 


138  Outlines  op  geonomy. 

the  current- from  the  north,  which  moves  along  the  west- 
ern shore  of  the  peninsula. 

The  peninsula  of  Kamschatka  was  formerly  an  island, 
between  which  and  the  main  land  the  waters  once  flowed ; 
but  now,  the  channel  being  obstructed,  the  water  enters 
and  makes  a  circuit,  and  proceeds  on  towards  Alaska. 
The  Japan  Isles  are  going  through  the  same  process, 
and  are  doubtless  destined  to  become  a  peninsula  with 
a  large  gulf,  through  which  a  sub-ellipse  will  circulate. 
The  Corea  is  formed  on  the  same  principle  as  Florida, 
and  the  Yellow  Sea  is  like  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The 
Gulf  of  Tonquin  is  still  more  like  that  of  Mexico,  with  its 
islands  and  its  peninsula  to  represent  Cuba  and  Florida. 
The  Gulf  of  Siam  depends  upon  the  same  causes,  and 
when  the  peninsula  of  Malacca  was  an  island,  the  re- 
semblance to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  was  perfect. 

Leopold  von  Buch  has  given  a  chart,  which  has  been 
copied  and  approved  by  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  showing  the 
tract  or  band  visited  by  earthquakes  and  illuminated 
by  volcanoes  among  the  Molucca  and  Sunda  Islands,  be- 
tween Australia  and  Asia.  And  I  would  call  especial 
attention  to  its  remarkable  agreement  with  my  views 
of  the  causes  of  earthquakes.  The  band,  according  to 
the  chart,  is  parallel  to  the  tract  of  the  ocean  currents, 
as  indicated  by  Lieutenant  Maury.  From  Barren  Isl- 
and, in  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  it  passes  to  Sumatra,  Java, 
New  Guinea,  and  thence  to  the  Philippine  Islands,  ex- 
actly parallel  with  the  current  which  proceeds  from  the 
Bay  of  Bengal  to  Behring's  Strait.  (See  LyelPs  Ge- 
ology.) 

A  similar  volcanic  band,  or  half  ellipse,  may  be  de- 


RELATION   OF   OCEAN   CURRENTS  TO   GEOGRAPHY.      139 

scribed  as  running  parallel  with  the  current  which  cir- 
culates in  the  Mexican  and  Caribbean  Archipelago,  in- 
cluding within  its  borders  Guadaloupe,  Caraccas,  Nica- 
ragua, and  Mexico. 

It  is  evident  that  a  similar  half  ellipse  once  existed 
in  the  Mediterranean  region  ;  and  one  certainly  does 
now  in  the  Aleutian  group,  including  Alaska  and 
Mount  St.  Elias.  Another  exists  in  the  Iceland  and 
Faroe  Islands.  If  we  draw  a  line  from  the  south  of 
Greenland,  which  is  said  to  be  slowly  sinking,  to  Ice- 
land, and  the  Faroes*  and  the  north  of  Scandinavia, 
wjiich  is  gradually  rising,  and  thence  to  the  south  of 
Scandinavia,  which  is  also  said  to  be  sinking,  we  shall 
trace  another  arc  of  an  ellipse  which  is  probably  anal- 
ogous to  the  others  already  described. 

The  volcanic  band  copied  by  Mr.  Lyell  is  exactly  in 
the  place  of  the  southern  apsis,  or  first  segment  of  the 
North-western  Pacific  ellipse.  The  Aleutian  volcanic 
band  occupies  the  place  of  the  other  or  northern  apsis. 
So,  also,  the  two  volcanic  bands  of  Mexico  and  Iceland 
are  in  the  places  of  the  apsides  of  the  North  Atlantic 
ellipse. 

That  the  continents  are  in  some  places  gradually 
rising,  is  now  generally  admitted  ;  and  the  only  theoret- 
ical explanation  of  the  fact  that  has  been  suggested, 
within  my  knowledge,  is,  that  it  is  owing  to  the  con- 
traction of  certain  parts  of  the  earth,  in  consequence  of 
the  gradual  radiation  of  heat.  I  will  not  discuss  this 
theory,  but  content  myself  with  proposing  another,  which 
seems  to  me  much  more  reasonable,  which  is,  that  the 
oceanic  basins  are  in  many  places  quietly  and  imper- 


140  OUTLINES   OP  GEONOMY. 

ceptibly,  but  progressively,  sinking,  on  account  of  the 
accumulation  of  sediment  in  their  beds  :  in  consequence 
of  this  depression,  the  lava  is  pushed  up  under  the 
neighboring  continents  with  a  force  equal  to  the  weight 
of  the  sinking  mass ;  this  causes  a  part  or  the  whole  of 
a  continent  to  rise  with  a  rapidity  equal  to  that  of  the 
accumulation  of  sediment.  In  some  parts  of  the  ocean's 
bed,  and  particularly  in  the  courses  of  the  principal  cur- 
rents, the  sediment  is  deposited  so  much  more  copiously 
than  in  other  places,  that  the  crust  of  the  earth  becomes 
locally  fractured  by  the  unequal  weights  that  press  upon 
it.  This  causes  sudden  local  subsidences,  which  usually 
take  place  in  lines  parallel  with  the  currents.  Isolated 
volcanoes  are  probably  caused  by  extraordinary  and 
special  accumulations  in  limited  spaces,  which  pro- 
duce great  local  depressions  and  corresponding  ele- 
vations.* 

The  attention  of  mankind  was  first  attracted  by  sin- 
gle volcanoes  ;  next  it  was  observed  that  they  generally 
occur  in  lines,  and  that  they  seem  to  alternate  in  ac- 
tion, as  if  they  are  so  connected  below  that  they  are 
capable  of  mutually  relieving  each  other.  It  was  also 
observed  that  all  mountains  appear  to  be  of  volcanic 
origin.  Finally,  it  was  ascertained  that  extensive  coun- 
tries, and  even  continents,  have  risen,  while  oceans  have 
grown  deeper,  without  any  perceptible  cause. 

The  Baron  Humboldt,  with  very  great  labor,  deter- 

*  However  natural  it  may  be  that  the  force  of  running  water  in  numer- 
ous valleys  should  be  spent,  it  is  by  no  means  so  easy  to  explain  why  tke 
violence  of  the  earthquake  and  the  fire  of  the  volcano  should  also  have  be- 
come locally  extinct  at  successive  periods.  —  Lyell. 


RELATION  OF  OCEAN  CURRENTS  TO  GEOGRAPHY.   141 

mined  as  near  as  practicable  the  height  of  the  several 
continents.     The  following  are  his  results  :  — 

Mean  Elevation. 

Europe, "  .     .       671  feet. 

Asia,         1151    " 

North  America,  ....  748  " 
South  America,  ....  1132  " 
In  order  to  determine  how  much  the  lands  altogether 
have  risen,  we  must  first  calculate  how  deep  the  ocean 
was  when  it  was  universal  and  uniform.  This  cannot 
be  estimated  with  any  thing  like  accuracy,  until  the 
present  depths  of  the  ocean  are  measured  in  a  great 
many  places.  We  may  doubtless  be  safe  in  assuming 
that  the  ocean  has  varied  as  far  from  a  uniform  depth 
as  the  land  has  from  a  uniform  height  above  the  level 
of  the  bottom  of  the  primitive  ocean. 

If  the  water  was  once  uniformly  a  mile  in  depth  over 
the  whole  earth,  the  ocean's  bed  may  have  risen  a  mile 
in  one  place  and  sunk  a  mile  in  another  place,  without 
raising  any  land  above  the  ocean's  level.  Now,  as  the 
lands  are  on  an  average  one  thousand  and  eight  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  ocean,  they  must  have  risen  that  much, 
besides  rising  from  their  ancient  beds  to  the  surface. 

From  this  it  does  not  follow  that  the  depths  of  the 
ocean  in  any  one  place  must  be  greater  than  the  eleva- 
tion of  the  land  in  any  place,  for  the  lava  which  is  dis- 
placed from  beneath  a  very  large  superficial  area  beneath 
the  ocean  may  have  been  forced  up  into  ridges  and  penin- 
sulas, which  are  very  high  and  narrow  ;  but  it  does  fol- 
low that  the  same  quantity  of  lava  by  cubic  measure  is 
elevated,  which  is  displaced  by  depression. 


142  OUTLINES    OF    GEONOMY. 

If  we  view  the  great  hemispherical  circle  of  conti- 
nents that  extend  from  Behring's  Strait  south-west 
through  the  tropics,  and  then  north-west  to  Behring's 
Strait  again,  we  shall  perceive  that  it  is  divided  into 
an  eastern  and  a  western  portion  by  the  North  Atlantic, 
which  runs  through  it  like  a  vast  river  whose  banks  are 
nearly  parallel.  We  shall  see  that  the  southern  points 
of  Africa  and  South  America  are  two  great  capes  con- 
stituting the  mouth  of  the  Atlantic  River,  Africa  being 
the  eastern,  and  South  America  the  western  cape. 

The  inland  seas  of  the  two  continents  are  subordinate 
streams  to  the  Atlantic  ;  thus,  in  the  eastern  continent 
we  have  the  White  Sea,  the  Baltic,  and  the  Mediterra- 
nean, with  its  dependencies.  In  the  western  we  have 
the  Gulfs  of  Mexico  and  St.  Lawrence,  Baffin's  and 
Hudson's  Bays.  All  these  communicate  with  the  At- 
lantic. It  is  through  the  medium  of  the  Atlantic  that 
the  north  and  south  polar  seas  communicate  with  each 
other.  In  this  view  it  may  be  regarded  as  a  sound  or 
strait,  running  north  and  south  from  the  arctic  to  the 
antarctic. 

If  we  make  a  map  of  the  world  on  Mercator's  pro- 
jection, extending  from  Behring's  Strait,  west  to  Behr- 
ing's again,  and  a  little  beyond,  so  as  to  include  the 
eastern  coast  of  Asia,  and  present  a  view  of  the  Pacific 
as  a  connected  whole  at  the  west  end  of  the  map,  we 
shall  be  able  to  represent  all  the  ellipses,  and  illustrate 
many  of  the  general  principles  of  geonomy  by  its 
means.  It  will  be  observed  that  on  this  map  all  the 
principal  lands  in  the  northern  hemisphere  are  included 
in  a  semicircle  which  extends  from  Behring's  Strait  to 


RELATION  OP  OCEAN  CURRENTS  TO  GEOGRAPHY.  143 

the  tropic  of  Cancer,  and  then  west  to  Mexico,  and 
thence  to  Behring's  Strait  again.  If  we  then  continue 
the  line  east  through  the  north  polar  sea  to  Behring's 
Strait  once  more, we  shall  have  completed  avast  ellipse, 
which  includes  all  the  lands  of  the  northern  hemisphere. 
This  grand  hemispherical  ellipse  appears  to  be  divided 
into  live  smaller  ellipses,  which,  being  named  in  their 
order  from  Behring's  Strait  west,  are,  1.  The  Asiatic  ; 
2.  The  European;  3.  The  North  Atlantic;  4.  The 
North  American  ;  5.  The  North-west  American. 

If  we  study  the  lands  in  the  southern  hemisphere,  we 
^shall  find  them  to  be  mere  points  projecting  from  the 
southern  border  of  the  grand  northern  hemispherical 
ellipse,  like  points  or  projections  on  the  border  of  a 
lady's  cape  which  is  scalloped  or  notched.  Each  of 
these  southern  points,  or  peninsulas,  is  situated  between 
southern  and  northern  ellipses,  and  in  no  instance  does 
one  of  them  constitute  an  ellipse  of  itself ;  indeed, 
there  are  no  drained  ellipses  in  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere, but  only  parts  of  the  borders  of  such  el- 
lipses. 

It  may  be  noticed  that  the  inland  waters  or  lakes  of 
the  northern  continents  are  arranged  in  a  semicircle, 
or,  rather,  a  curve,  which  corresponds  in  a  remarkable 
manner  with  the  polar  circle,  and  with  the  outline  of  the 
lands  of  the  northern  hemisphere  ;  so  much  so  that  they 
may  be  said  to  be  nearly  parallel  with  them.  Thus, 
commencing  at  Lake  Baikal,  in  Asia,  and  proceeding 
through  the  smaller  lakes  to  the  Aral  and  Caspian,  the 
Black  and  the  Mediterranean  Seas,  then  across  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Ontario,  Erie,  Michigan,  Superior,  Win- 


144  OUTLINES    OP    GEONOMY. 

ipeg,  and  Slave  Lakes,  we  shall  find  that  we  have 
described  a  curve  which  corresponds  with,  and  is  nearly 
parallel  with,  the  northern  and  with  the  southern  shores 
or  borders  of  the  lands  of  the  northern  hemisphere. 
These  inland  waters  generally  have  their  greatest  ex- 
tension north  and  south,  and  their  shores  are  generally 
curved  just  as  the  mountains  are,  to  conform  to  the 
normal  directions  of  the  currents  that  run  between  the 
polar  and  tropical  regions. 

We  shall  probably  be  justified  if  we  view  the  conti- 
nental semicircle  from  Behring  to  Behring  as  marking 
the  former  bounds  of  the  ancient  northern  sea,  of  which 
the  Frozen  Ocean  and  the  North  Atlantic  are  the  rem- 
nants. We  may  believe  that  a  time  existed  when  the 
Asiatic,  European,  and  North  American  basins  were  oc- 
cupied by  water  and  bounded  by  chains  of  islands  which 
have  since  been  elevated  to  constitute  the  two  great 
chains  of  mountains  that  distinguish  the  eastern  and 
western  continents.  During  the  progress  of  the  lands 
to  their  present  elevations,  there  must  have  been  a 
period  when  there  were  numerous  outlets  from  the  Arc- 
tic Ocean  to  the  tropics.  Perhaps  the  southern  penin- 
sulas of  Asia  may  be  regarded  as  marking  the  places 
of  some  of  those  outlets,  just  as  the  African  and  South 
American  points  now  mark  the  southern  extremity  of 
the  Atlantic.  Perhaps  we  may  look  upon  the  peninsu- 
las of  Alaska,  Kamschatka,  Chin  India,  Hindostan,  and 
Arabia,  as  points,  or  headlands,  from  whence  the  an- 
cient Asiatic  sea  found  outlets,  before  the  chain  of 
mountains  was  elevated  in  the  eastern  and  southern 
parts  of  Asia  ;  and  we  may  regard  the  circle  of  inland 


RELATION  OF  OCEAN  CURRENTS  TO  GEOGRAPHY.   145 

seas  and  lakes  as  remnants  of  the  ancient  channels  which 
the  ocean  made  in  communicating  with  the  tropics. 

THE  THERMAL  EQUATOR. 

The  extreme  eastern  points  of  South  America,  of  Af- 
rica, and  of  Australia,  are  not  only  analogous  in  form, 
but  in  function.  Each  is  a  dividing  point,  where  the 
westward  equatorial  currents  of  the  two  hemispheres, 
after  having  run  a  certain  distance  together  parallel 
with  the  equator,  separate,  one  to  flow  north  and  the 
other  south.  Perhaps  it  would  be  more  correct  to  say 
that  the  three  points  were  formed  originally  by  the 
separation  of  the  currents  at  these  places. 

The  question  then  arises,  Why  are  not  the  eastern 
points  of  these  three  southern  inter-lands  all  arranged 
precisely  at  the  equator,  or  in  one  line  parallel  with  the 
equator  ?  Why  is  the  eastern  point  of  Australia  about 
thirty  degrees  south  of  the  equator,  that  of  Africa  about 
ten  north,  and  of  South  America  about  six  degrees  south  ? 

The  answer  to  this  question  involves  an  explanation 
of  the  isothermal  lines,  and  is  a  rather  complicated 
matter.  I  shall  therefore  only  touch  upon  it  generally. 
It  is  commonly  assumed  that  the  difference  in  the  lines 
of  equal  temperature  depends  upon  the  relative  posi- 
tions and  heights  of  land  and  sea  ;  but  if  the  lands  were 
put  into  their  present  places  by  the  action  of  the  water, 
how  has  it  happened  that  they  are  placed  so  differently 
with  reference  to  the  equator  ?  In  other  words,  why 
did  not  the  creative  currents  operate  in  the  same  line, 
instead  of  producing  two  of  the  eastern  points,  Africa 
13 


146  OUTLINES   OF  GEONOMY. 

and  Australia,  thirty-five  degrees  apart,  and  the  third, 
South  America,  intermediate  ?  Does  not  the  answer  to 
this  question  involve  another  still  more  curious,  namely, 
which  of  the  three  southern  continents  were  elevated 
first  ?  which  second,  and  third  ? 

Let  us  assume  that  a  portion  of  Asia  and  Africa 
were  the  first  lands  to  rise  above  the  surface  of  the  sea. 
"What  effect  would  their  elevation  have  upon  the  ther- 
mal equilibrium  of  the  earth  ?  There  is  no  doubt  that 
it  would  be  to  increase  the  warmth  of  the  northern  hemi- 
sphere at  the  expense  of  the  southern  ;  and  the  conse- 
quence would  be,  that  an  effort  (so  to  speak)  would  be 
made  by  the  air  and  water  to  restore  the  thermal  bal- 
ance. To  accomplish  this,  the  winds  and  currents  would 
swerve  over  the  mid-line  into  the  colder  southern  hem- 
isphere, and  meet  the  currents  from  the  antarctic  about 
six  degrees  south  of  the  equator.  At  the  location  of 
Cape  St.  Roque,  the  two  currents  would  again  part,  and 
return,  each  to  its  own  proper  hemisphere,  one  along 
the  eastern  coast  of  South  America,  and  the  other  to 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  then  along  the  eastern  coast 
of  North  America.  • 

Having  thus  briefly  accounted  for  the  position  of 
the  eastern  point  of  South  America  south  of  the  equa- 
tor, we  must  further  inquire  how  the  eastern  point  of 
Australia  came  to  be  still  farther  south. 

Let  us  assume  —  what  will  probably  not  be .  ques- 
tioned by  any  geologist  —  that  all  the  other  continents 
were  elevated  before  Australia  was  :  the  thermal  equi- 
librium was  then  farther  from  a  balance  than  ever,  and 
the  winds  and  waters  were  necessarily  driven  still  farther 


RELATION  OP  OCEAN  CURRENTS  TO  GEOGRAPHY.  147 

to  the  south,  to  disburse  the  excess  of  heat  which  north- 
ern lands  radiated  from  their  extensive  surfaces.  Under 
these  circumstances,  the  currents  of  wind  and  water 
from  the  north  would  be  likely  to  run,  and  doubtless 
did  run,  over  into  the  southern  hemisphere,  as  far  as  the 
thirtieth  degree  of  latitude,  before  they  were  antago- 
nized and  arrested  by  the  cold  antarctic  waters,  so  as 
to  be  brought  into  a  state  of  equilibrium.  At  the 
point  where  these  waters  again  parted,  the  most  eastern 
mountains  of  Australia  were  formed. 

The  current  which  flows  to  the  south  from  the  eastern 
point  of  Australia  probably  enters  the  Antarctic  Sea 
near  Victoria  Land,  and  returns  to  the  equator  through 
the  South  Pacific.  The  current  that  flows  to  the  north 
of  the  eastern  point  of  Australia  is  better  known,  for  it 
has  made  a  deep  impression  upon  the  ocean's  bed,  and 
raised  a  series  of  mural  monuments  to  indicate  its  path 
—  the  north-eastern  shore  of  Australia,  the  islands  of 
Java  and  Sumatra,  Borneo,  Celebes,  and  New  Guinea, 
the  peninsulas  of  India,  Siam,  and  Malacca,  —  these  are 
the  offspring  of  this  mighty 'current,  and  their  moun- 
tains are  parallel  to  its  course. 

This  hypothesis  has  the  merit  of  accounting  for  the 
gradually  increasing  advance  to  the  south  of  the  eastern 
and  southern  points  of  land,  successively,  from  India  to 
Africa,  South  America,  and  Australia. 


THERMAL  TROPICS. 

If  there  are  three  eastern  points  where  the  equatorial 
currents   originally   divided   and   separated   into    two 


148  OUTLINES   OF   GEONOMY. 

branches,  one  of  which  moved  towards  the  north-west, 
and  the  other  towards  the  south-west,  the  question  is, 
Are  there  two  corresponding  points  in  the  two  hemi- 
spheres where  the  two  currents  turned  from  the  north 
and  south-west,  and  moved  towards  the  north  and  south- 
east? Looking  at  the  eastern  coast  of  the  Americas, 
the  forms  of  the  land  give  a  ready  answer  ;  for  Cape 
Horn  and  Yucatan  are  evidently  the  two  turning  points, 
nearly  equidistant  from  the  Cape  St.  Roque.  The  east- 
ern coast  of  North  America  shows  plainly  the  direction 
to  the  north-east  taken  by  the  current  from  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  ;  and  we  are  safe  in  assuming  that  an  analogous 
current  flows  south-east  from  Cape  Horn,  the  effects  of 
which  will  yet  be  learned  by  deep  sea  soundings,  which 
I  hope  Lieutenant  Maury  will  be  authorized  to  make. 
From  the  most  eastern  point  of  Africa  we  see  plainly 
marked  the  track  of  the  two  currents,  one  to  the  south- 
west, through  the  Mozambique  Channel,  between  Mada- 
gascar and  Africa,  and  the  other  through  the  Red  Sea 
to  the  north-west.  An  interesting  question  now  is, 
Where  are  the  corresponding  points  where  these  two 
currents  turn  to  move  eastwardly?  There  is  a  noted 
submarine  plateau  south  of  Madagascar,  called  the  La- 
gullas  bank,  which  rises  suddenly  above  the  bed  of  the 
ocean  several  thousand  feet,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that 
this  will  prove  to  be  the  turning  point  which  marks  the 
path  to  the  south-east  taken  by  this  southern  branch  of 
the  African  current.  The  northern  branch  moves 
along  the  Red  Sea  to  the  Isthmus  of  Suez  :  no  one 
„  doubts  that  it  once  flowed  through  the  Mediterranean  ; 
but  where  was   its  turning  point   to   the  north-ea^? 


RELATION  OF  OCEAN  CURRENTS  TO  GEOGRAPHY.   149 

The  answer  is  found,  in  the  Black  Sea,  the  Caspian,  and 
the  Oural  Mountains.  On  the  Asiatic  coast  the  Bay  of 
Bengal  is  the  turning  point,  but  the  Tasmanian  region 
is  unexplored. 

OF  THE   MAGNETIC   NEEDLE. 

The  magnetic  needle,  instead  of  always  pointing  north 
and  south,  varies  to  the  east  or  to  the  west.  It  does  so 
much  more  in  some  places  than  in  others,  and  in  differ- 
ent degrees  in  the  same  place  at  different  times.  The 
causes  or  law  of  this  variation  are  unknown.  Captain 
Sabine  noticed  that  the  compass  needle  varies  in  a 
manner  which  indicates  a  tendency  to  conform  to  the 
directions  of  the  mountain  ranges. 

I  have  lately  been  struck  with  the  correspondence 
between  the  curves  of  magnetic  variation  as  indicated 
on  the  map  of  the  world,  and  the  elliptical  curves  of 
the  ocean  currents  when  marked  on  the  same  map. 
The  correspondence  is  so  remarkable,  that  there  must 
be  some  connection  between  the  phenomena.  Is  it 
because  the  submarine  mountains  agree  in  their  direc- 
tion with  the  currents,  and  also  because  the  needle  is 
influenced  by  the  largest  and  nearest  masses  of  land  ? 
or  is  it  owing  to  the  thermal  influences  of  both  moun- 
tains and  currents  upon  the  magnetic  forces?  The 
latter  seems  to  me  the  more  probable. 

I  have  now  before  me  "A  Chart  of  the  Magnetic 
Curves  of  equal  Variation,"  by  Peter  Barlow,  Esq., 
London,  in  which  the  curves  on  the  west  of  Africa  and 
Europe  are  identical  with  the  curves  of  the  ocean  cur- 
rents in  the  same  places ;  one  set  of  lines  proceeding 
13* 


150  OUTLINES   OF   GEONOMY. 

from  the  arctic  and  another  from  the  antarctic,  and 
the  two  meeting  at  the  Canary  Islands,  and  crossing 
the  Atlantic  together  to  the  American  coast.  In  the 
South  Pacific  the  magnetic  curves  are  represented  as 
forming  an  ellipse,  which  embraces  the  whole  ocean 
in  a  manner  identical  with  that  in  which  I  have,  in 
the  diagram  map,  represented  the  ocean  currents  as 
running. 

So,  also,  in  the  region  between  Australia  and  Asia, 
the  magnetic  curves  are  identical  with  the  curves  of 
the  currents  as  marked  on  the  diagram  map.  The  same 
is  true  concerning  the  curves  parallel  with  the  eastern 
coasts  of  Asia  and  of  Australia. 

Again,  two  magnetic  ellipses  impinge  upon  each 
other  near  the  Sandwich  Islands  ;  the  principal  part 
of  one  ellipse  being  in  the  South,  and  of  the  other  in 
the  North  Pacific  ;  just  as  are  the  two  elliptic  currents 
of  water  in  the  same  places,  as  represented  in  the  dia- 
gram map.  The  hypothesis  which  I  would  propose  to 
account  for  the  variations  of  the  magnetic  needle  is  the 
following  :  — 

The  rotation  of  the  earth  causes  a  current  of  thermo- 
electricity to  move  with  the  sun  around  the  earth  con- 
tinually. Any  magnet,  like  the  compass  needle,  always 
assumes  a  position  at  right  angles  to  a  current  of  elec- 
tricity. This  theory  is  generally  adopted,  and  it  ex- 
plains the  pointing  of  the  needle  north  and  south.  To 
this  I  would  add  that  the  inequalities  of  the  ocean  and 
the  land  cause  variations  of  the  thermo-electric  current, 
and  of  course  produce  corresponding  variations  of  the 
compass.     On  the  land  the  variations  correspond  with 


RELATION  OF  OCEAN  CURRENTS  TO  GEOGRAPHY.   151 

the  mountains  and  large  masses  of  cold  lands.  On  the 
water  they  correspond  with  the  great  currents,  and 
they  are  parallel  with  the  submarine  mountains. 

According  to  this  theory,  if  the  crust  of  the  earth 
was  uniform  and  level  in  all  its  parts,  there  would  be 
no  variation  of  the  magnetic  needle,  and  if  the  inequali- 
ties of  the  earth  were  all  well  understood,  —  the  sub- 
marine mountains  and  valleys,  the  currents  of  all  the 
oceans,  and  the  elevations  ox"  all  the  lands,  —  the  varia- 
tions of  the  needle  would  be  found  to  correspond  with 
them,  and  could  therefore  be  reduced  to  known  laws 
and  practical  rules. 

If  I  am  not  greatly  mistaken,  important  practical 
results  may  be  obtained  by  following  up  this  observa- 
tion of  the  relation  which  unquestionably  exists  between 
the  currents,  the  mountains,  and 'the  needle.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  not  only  the  causes  of  the  magnetic  variations 
may  be  demonstrated,  but  the  compass  needle  may  be 
used  as  an  indicator  of  the  directions  or  forces  of  the 
currents  in  places  where  they  flow  unseen.  It  may  also, 
perhaps,  become  an  index  of  the  degree  of  variation  of 
the  crust  of  the  earth  from  uniformity  of  thickness  or 
of  temperature. 

Note.  Dip  of  the  Needle. —  Some  experiments  with  coils  of  wire,  which 
I  havf  tried  within  a  few  days  in  illustration  of  theoretical  views,  have  IS» 
duced  me  to  regard  the  dip  of  the  magnetic  needle  as  but  a  modified  man- 
ifestation of  the  same  principle  as  that  which  causes  it  to  point  north  and 
south,  namely,  a  tendency  to  balance  itself  at  right  angles  to  the  predom- 
inant current  of  magnetic  force.  Magnetic  poles  appear  to  be  centres  or 
axes  of  thermo-electric  circles.  The  thermal  inequalities  near  the  surface 
of  the  earth  seem  to  give  a  tendency  to  increase  the  number  of  magnetic 
circles,  axes,  and  poles. 


152  OUTLINES  OF  GEONOMY. 


SECTION   VIII. 

RELATION  OF  THE  EARTH'S  CRUST  TO  THE  LIQUID  OCEAN 
OF  METAL  BELOW,  AND  THE  WATERY  OCEAN  AND  THE 
ATMOSPHERE  ABOVE. 

The  earth  is  surrounded  by  an  atmosphere  which 
modifies  and  refracts  the  rays  of  light.  It  also  pos- 
sesses oceans  of  water  that  refract  the  rays  still  more 
in  their  passage  to  its  depths.  But  astronomers  have 
concluded, that  the  moon  is  nearly  or  quite  destitute 
of  an  atmosphere,  from  the  fact  that  light  seems  to 
be  refracted  but  little,  if  any,  when  reflected  from  its 
surface.  The  telescope  demonstrates  that  the  moon  has 
no  large  bodies  of  water  ;  yet  the  existence  of  moun- 
tains in  the  moon  is  placed  beyond  all  question,  and 
their  forms,  sizes,  and  relative  positions  are  determined 
with  approximate  accuracy.  Observations  made  upon 
Venus  and  Mars  prove  that  they  have  atmospheres, 
mountains,  and  snow-clad  polar  regions,  and  of  course 
oceans  of  water,  as  the  earth  has.  The  moon,  there- 
fore, appears  at  first  sight  to  be  a*h  exception  and  an 
anomaly.* 

*  "  Not  a  drop  of  water,  or  of  any  fluid  akin  to  it,  is  now  in  the  moon. 
Besides,  there  are  no  elouds ;  and  as  the  moon  has  a  small  atmosphere, 
this  alone  is  decisive  ;  for  otherwise  vapors  would  float  there,  and  the  purity 
of  the  disk  appear  variable.  The  question  whether  water  has  been  there,  — 
whether  in  the  history  of  that  globe,  in  the  course  of  its  growth  and  revo- 
lutions, the  epoch  of  water,  or  of  fluidity  in  general,  has  not  come  or  is 
passed, — is  of  more  difficult  solution."  —  Pkof.  Nichols,  On  the  Solar 
System. 


RELATION   OF   THE   CONSTITUENTS   OF   THE   GLOBE.     153 

It  is  utterly  improbable,  a  priori,  that  the  moon  is 
governed  by  different  laws  from  those  which  regulate 
the  constitutions  of  other  planets  ;  we  are  therefore  led 
to  inquire  whether  there  is  not  a  process  going  on  in 
this  earth  which  is  gradually  tending  to  the  final  de- 
struction of  its  ocean  and  atmosphere,  though  it  may 
leave  its  mountains  higher  and  its  valleys  deeper  than 
they  are  now,  thus  reducing  it  to  the  same  condition  as 
the  moon. 

The  elementary  or  ultimate  substances  which  compose 
the  earth  are  divisible  into  metallic,  non-metallic  earths, 
and  gases,  numbering  all  together  about  sixty  ^  of  these 
nearly  fifty  are  considered  metallic,  eight  are  conjectured 
to  be  non-metallic  earths,  and  four  gaseous.  Before  the 
time  of  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  many  of  the  substances 
which  are  now  known  to  be  metals  were  considered  as 
non-metallic  earths ;  but  he  proved  experimentally  that 
they  are  metals  combined  with  oxygen.  It  has  been 
demonstrated  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  solid  crust 
of  the  earth  is  oxygen  combined  with  substances  most 
of  which  have  a  metallic  basis.  This  oxygen  must  have 
been  originally  derived  from  the  atmosphere,  for  in  the 
beginning  there  could  have  been  none  any  where  else. 
There  is  no  avoiding  the  conclusion  that  the  atmosphere 
has  been  continually  yielding  its  contents  to  the  solid 
earth. 

The  original  crust  of  the  earth  must  have  been  com- 
posed of  those  metals  and  earths  which  have  the  least 
specific  gravity,  combined  with  oxygen.  The  principal 
of  these  are  calcium,  potassium,  silicium,  or  silicon,  sodi- 
um, aluminum,  and  magnesium.     These  substances  must 


154  OUTLINES   OF  GEONOMY. 

at  one  time  have  floated  upon  the  liquid  surface  of  the 
earth,  and  were  thus  exposed  to  form  combinations  with 
oxygen,  sulphur,  phosphorus,  carbon,  iodine,  and  other 
volatile  substances.  Upon  the  crust  thus  formed  the  prim- 
itive ocean  fell  from  the  atmosphere.  Then  commenced 
that  series  of  geological  operations  which  produced  the 
present  condition  of  the  earth,  the  sea,  and  the  air  — 
operations  which  are  still  progressing  in  the  same  direc- 
tion, under  the  influence  of  the  same  lawsr  though  the 
combinations  and  circumstances  are  continually  becom- 
ing more  and  more  complicated.  The  metallic  earth 
and  the  liquid  ocean  and  atmosphere  have  been  unceas- 
ingly acting  and  reacting  upon  each  other  ;  but  in  this 
contest  the  atmosphere  has  been  continually  losing  sub- 
stance. The  earth  had  originally  nothing  to  give  to 
the  atmosphere  but  metals,  and  these  the  atmosphere 
could  not  retain  ;  but  the  atmosphere  possessed  an 
immense  quantity  of  vaporous  and  gaseous  substance, 
which  the  gradually  increasing  coldness  forced  it  to 
impart  to  the  earth. 

The  oxides  of  metals,  which  formed  upon  the  surface 
of  the  new  earth,  being  non-conductors  of  heat,  con- 
fined most  of  it  within  the  sphere  of  the  earth  itself, 
and  thus  enabled  the  vapors  of  water  to  condense  and 
fall  upon  the  oxidated  surface,  and  form  an  unbounded 
and  shoreless  ocean.  The  heavier  metals  of  course 
sunk  below  the  first  formed  crust,  though  some  of  them 
were  thrown  up  by  eruptions  afterwards.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  lighter  metals  united  with  the  oxygen  to  form 
the  top  of  the  crust,  and  were,  therefore,  first  exposed 
to  the  attrition  of  the  waters.     This  being  the  case,  it 


RELATION  OF  THE  CONSTITUENTS  OF  THE  GLOBE.   155 

would  naturally  follow,  that  the  first  stratified  deposits 
would  be  composed  of  ingredients  worn  from  the  prim- 
itive crust,  and  constituted  of  the  oxides  of  the  lightest 
metals. 

In  accordance  with  this  reasoning,  we  actually  find 
potassium,  sodium,  aluminum,  calcium,  and  silicium,  the 
lightest  known  metals  and  metalloids,  performing  the 
principal  part  in  forming  the  first  stratified  rocks  that 
were  deposited  from  the  primitive  ocean.  Sodium,  the 
lightest  known  metal,  united  with  oxygen  and  chlorine  to 
form  common  salt,  which  was  dissolved  in  the  ocean 
waters.  Potassium,  the  next  lightest  of  the  metals, 
united  with  oxygen  to  form  potash,  which  is  an  essential 
constituent  of  granite  —  and  granite  is  the  material  of 
which  the  original  crust  was  mostly  formed.  Silicium,  or 
silicon,  a  metalloid  which  belongs  to  the  lightest  class, 
is  the  principal  constituent  of  mica  and  quartz.  Alumi- 
num, one  of  the  same  class  of  light  metals,  is  the  main 
ingredient  of  clay.  Calcium,  another  very  light  metal, 
constitutes  the  essential  part  of  lime. 

It  has  been  a  question  how  the  rocks  originated 
which  are  composed  of  the  carbonate  of  lime.  I  have 
suggested  already,  in  another  place,  that  cold  water 
will  hold  more  lime  in  solution  than  warm  will.  I  be- 
lieve, however,  that  water  will  not  hold  the  carbonate 
of  lime  in  solution,  —  except,  perhaps,  in  small  quanti- 
ties, when  the  water  contains  an  excess  of  carbonic 
acid.  Another  explanation  of  the  phenomenon  has  oc- 
curred to  me,  which  is,  that,  when  the  ancient  waters 
held  a  large  quantity  of  lime  in  solution,  and  the  atmos- 
phere was  also  heavily  charged  with  carbonic  acid,  the 


156  OUTLINES    OF    GEONOMY. 

carbonic  acid  of  the  atmosphere  would  be  absorbed  by 
the  water  and  unite  with  the  lime,  forming  the  insoluble 
carbonate  of  lime,  which  would  of  course  be  precipi- 
tated and  constitute  the  limestones. 

From  this  brief  statement  it  appears  that  granite  was 
formed  by  the  cooling  of  melted  lava  ;  gneiss,  sandstones, 
and  clay,  by  the  wearing  away  and  rearranging  of  gran- 
ite by  water  ;  and  limestones  and  some  others  were  de- 
posited from  solution  in  water. 

Iron  unites  with  oxygen  to  form  an  oxide  which  gives 
its  peculiar  color  to  all  the  rocks  through  which  it  is 
diffused  ;  but  we  do  not  find  this  red  color  characterizing 
the  earliest  deposits  from  the  ocean.  Iron  was,  un- 
doubtedly, thrown  up  as  a  consequence  of  the  pressure 
produced  by  the  primary  stratified  rocks.  The  forma- 
tion called  the  old  red  sandstone  was  produced  by  the 
attrition  of  the  sediment  and  the  water  upon  the  iron 
which  had  been  thrown  up  from  below  the  crust  after 
the  deposition  of  the  primary  strata  of  gneiss  and  the 
lower  slates. 

If  the  volcanic  forces  merely  threw  up  the  primitive 
crust  of  the  earth  and  exposed  it  again  and  again  to 
the  action  of  the  atmosphere  and  the  water,  there  would 
be  a  limit  to  the  absorbing  power  of  the  crust,  and  we 
might  be  allowed  to  indulge  a  hope  that  a  mathematical 
calculation  would  demonstrate  the  impossibility  of  the 
whole  ocean  and  atmosphere  being  ultimately  absorbed  ; 
but  when  we  know  that  the  vast  stores  of  metal  below 
the  crust  are  thirsting  to  drink  up  our  ocean  and  atmos- 
phere, digest  all  the  gases,  and  assimilate  them  to  earth, 
we  must  abandon  such  a  hope,  and  look  at  the  actual 


RELATION  OF  THE  CONSTITUENTS  OP  THE  GLOBE.   157 

facts.  "  One  half  at  least  of  the  ponderable  matter  near 
the  earth's  surface  is  oxygen,"  which  was  once  in  the  at- 
mosphere ;  the  granite  and  slate  rocks  are  saturated 
with  oxygen,  and  so  is  the  iron  which  succeeded  the 
earlier  slates  ;  the  limestones,  also,  are  composed  prin- 
cipally of  calcium,  magnesium,  carbon,  and  oxygen. 
When  vegetation  commenced  on  the  earth,  and  the  coal 
was  formed,  it  drank  millions  of  millions  of  tons  of  vapor, 
carbon,  and  oxygen  from  the  atmosphere,  and  deposited 
it  in  the  form  of  coal  beds.  Above  this  again  rose  new 
reel  sandstone,  and  chalk,  and  a  great  variety  of  minor 
rocks  ;  but  all  robbed  the  atmosphere  and  the  water  to 
obtain  ingredients  with  which  to  constitute  themselves. 
At  the  present  time,  the  atmosphere  weighs  nearly 
fifteen  pounds  to  the  square  inch  ;  but  it  must  once  have 
been  many  times  heavier,  and  it  must  now  be  continually 
growing  lighter  ;  for  volcanoes  are  incessantly  pouring 
forth  lavas,  and  forcing  up  metals,  which  have  a  strong 
affinity  for  oxygen  ;  vegetables  are  continually  absorb- 
ing vast  quantities  of  carbon,  nitrogen,  and  oxygen  ; 
and  animals,  without  conceivable  number,  are  appropri- 
ating oxygen  to  produce  their  motions  and  sustain  life. 
The  gradually  decreasing  size  of  the  products  of  vege- 
tation in  the  known  parts  of  the  earth,  since  the  car- 
boniferous period,  is  evidence  that  its  capabilities  are 
not  what  they  once  were,  and  philosophy  shows  us  no 
limit  to  this  decrease  until  the  present  condition  of  the 
moon  shall  be  reached  by  the  earth,  and  ocean,  air,  and 
organic  life  shall  all  be  compounded  with  the  metals. 
The  length  of  time  that  must  transpire  before  these  ex- 
treme results  are  produced  will  be  vast,  no  doubt ;  but, 
14 


158  OUTLINES   OF   GEOXOMY. 

logically  or  geologically,  that  makes  no  final  difference. 
If  it  appears  that  the  earth  is  continually  absorbing 
more  of  the  atmosphere  than  it  restores,  the  time  will 
come  when  there  will  be  none  left,  and  the  analogy  of 
the  earth  to  the  moon  will  be  complete.  If  by  any 
means  all  the  metallic  contents  of  the  interior  of  the 
earth  could  be  brought,  in  a  subdivided  state,  into  con- 
tact with  the  atmosphere  and  the  ocean  for  only  a  single 
moment,  the  latter  would  both  be  entirely  absorbed  and 
amalgamated  with  the  earth. 

It  is  worthy  of  especial  remark  that  the  absence  of 
red  oxides  from  the  very  earliest  deposits,  and  their 
abundance  afterwards,  not  only  proves  that  iron  and 
the  heavier  metals  had  not  yet  been  thrown  to  the  sur- 
face in  any  great  quantities,  and  that  the  lighter  metals 
preceded  them  in  composing  the  earth's  crust,  but  it 
proves  also  that  there  could  not  have  been  any  powerful 
volcanoes  before  the  primary  strata  were  deposited 
from  the  ocean  ;  for,  if  there  had  been,  iron  would  have 
been  thrown  up  by  them,  and  would  have  tinged  the 
granite  and  gneiss,  as  it  afterwards  did  the  sandstone 
formations,  below  and  above  the  coal  measures.  Before 
there  were  any  mountains  there  could  not  have  been 
much  iron  on  the  earth's  surface,  and  the  composition  of 
the  earliest  rocks  shows,  in  fact,  that  there  was  but  little  ; 
but  after  the  first  convulsions  and  eruptions,  we  find  iron 
and  other  metals  increasing  in  quantity  continually. 

If  circumstances  were  now  to  put  the  earth  into  a 
place  where  its  whole  surface  would  be  melted,  gravita- 
tion would  at  once  restore #11  the  substances  on  its  sur- 
face to  their  original  positions,  as  they  were  before  the 


RELATION  OF  THE  CONSTITUENTS  OF  THE  GLOBE.   159 

first  strata  were  formed.  The  surface  of  the  melted 
earth  would  be  covered  with  the  elements  of  the  early 
rocks  ;  granite,  gneiss,  and  sandstone  would  be  formed 
upon  the  surface  again,  but  iron,  tin,  lead,  copper,  and 
other  heavy  metals  would  be  below  the  surface,  and 
would  remain  there  until  pressure  from  above  produced 
an  eruption,  which  would  force  them  up  in  veins.  If, 
before  such  an  eruption^  the  new  granite  were  worn  and 
broken  up  by  the  water,  it  would  cause  a  deposit  of 
strata  composed  only  of  the  same  chemical  elements  as 
those  which  constituted  the  granite,  combined,  perhaps, 
with  some  other  substances,  absorbed  from  the  water  ; 
but  there  would  be  no  iron.  Now,  let  an  eruption  en- 
sue, and  on  the  top  of  that  primitive  stratum  there 
would  be  poured  a  mass  of  iron,  the  most  abundant  of 
the  heavy  metals,  and  one  of  the  lightest  of  those  which 
are  beneath  the  granite  crust,  being,  at  the  same  time, 
remarkable  for  the  deep  color  of  its  oxides.  During 
the  formation  of  the  strata  that  followed  the  eruption 
of  the  iron,  the  oxide  would  be  mingling  its  red  and 
yellow  dyes  with  the  sand  and  marl  which  constituted 
Hie  layers  of  strata.  The  iron  below  the  crust  is  like  the 
blood  beneath  the  skin  ;  it  never  appears  in  large  quan- 
tities, except  in  consequence  of  a  wound  of  considerable 
depth. 

It  follows,  from  the  foregoing,  that  metals  should  be 
most  abundantly  emitted  in  those  places  where  disloca- 
tions of  the  earth's  crust  have  been  produced  the  most 
suddenly  and  the  most  deeply,  and  I  believe  that  the  ap- 
pearances presented  by  mining  regions  agree  with  this 
idea.     It  must  necessarily  happen  that,  in  some  cases  an 


160  OUTLINES   OF  GEONOMY. 

immense  load  of  detritus  will  collect  upon  a  portion  of 
the  crust  of  the  earth  before  it  yields  in  any  degree  to 
its  weight ;  but  when  it  does  give  way,  it  produces  a 
sudden  downward  movement  on  one  side  of  the  fissure, 
which  is  instantly  followed  by  a  corresponding  reaction 
upward  of  the  metallic  fluid  from  below  to  the  other  side. 
This  being  so,  it  must  be  easy  to  determine  on  which 
side  of  the  fissure  the  subsidence  took  place,  and  in  what 
direction  the  metals  may  be  found.  A  gradual  pressure 
would  be  likely  to  crowd  up  only  the  melted  lava  which 
floats  upon  the  surface  ;  but  a  sudden,  deep,  and  power- 
ful fall  of  the  ocean's  bed  might,  by  its  reaction,  throw 
up  the  heavier  metals,  which  are  below  the  lava. 

In  mines  it  is  a  general  fact  that  the  metallic  veins  run 
at  right  angles  to  the  mountain  range,  or  main  axis  of 
elevation  ;  the  reason  of  this  has  always  been  a  mystery. 
Is  not  the  explanation  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  tho 
lava  and  its  metallic  accompaniments  are  forced  and 
powerfully  pressed  between  the  opposite  sides,  of  the 
mountain,  and  thus  driven,  in  a  melted  state,  into  the 
crevices  that  run  at  right  angles  to  the  mountain  ?  * 


*  As,  after  the  deposit  of  the  slates,  violent  dislocations  happened  and 
were  succeeded  by  the  old  red  conglomerate,  so,  after  the  deposit  of  the 
coal,  similar  and  equally  extensive  interruptions  of  the  planes  and  courses 
of  strata  were  followed  by  the  analogous .  deposit  of  lower  red  (?iew  red) 
sandstone.  —  Philips. 


COMPARATIVE  GEONOMY.  161 


SECTION    IX. 

COMPARATIVE  GEONOMY.  ANALOGY  OF  THE  EARTH  TO 
MARS,  VENUS,  AND  THE  MOON. 

In  order  more  perfectly  to  conceive  of  the  operation 
of  geonomic  principles,  let  us  suppose  that  one  of  the 
planets,  otherwise  like  this,  had  no  equinoctial  precession, 
nor  change  of  seasons,  the  terrestrial  equator,  the  ther- 
mal equator,  and  the  ecliptic  being  identical.  In  such 
a  planet,  the  northern  and  southern  currents,  and  conse- 
quently the  continents,  would  be  nearly  symmetrical. 
The  forms  of  the  continents  and  the  directions  of  the 
ocean  currents,  the  mountains,  and  the  rivers,  could  all 
be  predicted  before  the  creation  of  such  a  world.  Its 
condition  at  any  given  time  being  known,  its  future 
changes  and  its  progress  could  be  calculated  with  cer- 
tainty. The  positions  of  its  latest  volcanoes  and  the 
direction  of  its  earthquakes  being  ascertained,  it  could 
be  determined  when  and  where  the  outbreak  of  a  new 
volcano  might  be  expected.  Even  in  regard  to  our  own 
planet,  singular  and  presumptuous  as  it  may  seem,  I  am 
fully  convinced  that  we  now  have  the  clew  to  the  chain 
of  facts  and  reasonings  by  which  we  shall  be  able  to 
point  with  philosophical  confidence  to  the  course  of 
future  earthquakes  and  volcanoes,  though  with  much  less 
certainty  than  we  could  in  the  case  we  are  supposing. 
In  our  hypothetical  planet,  the  currents  would  tend  to 
produce  a  series  of  continents  which  would  be  of  an 
14* 


162  OUTLINES    OF    GEONOMY. 

oval  or  elliptical  form,  with  their  long  diameters  to  the 
north-east  and  south-west  on  the  north  side  of  the  planet, 
and  to  the  north-west  and  south-east  on  the  south  side. 
The  mountains,  rivers,  slopes,  the  volcanoes,  earthquakes, 
and  even  the  clouds  and  the  weather,  would  be  nearly 
alike  in  each  one  of  these  continents ;  and  all  terres- 
trial phenomena  would  present  one  continuous  round  of 
tedious  repetitions. 

Let  us  now  imagine  another  planet,  so  situated,  if 
possible,  that  its  ecliptic  is  constantly  in  the  plane  of 
the  tropic  of  Cancer,  or  several  degrees  north  of  it.  Of 
course  we  should  have  continual  summer  in  the  north  and 
winter  in  the  south  ;  the  currents  would  alternately  flow 
from  the  north  pole  to  about  the  thirtieth  degree  of  south 
latitude  and  back  again  ;  the  continents  would  all  be 
formed  in  the  northern  hemisphere  ;  for  there  would  be 
no  currents  to  form  any  in  the  south  ;  nor  would  there 
be  a  mountain,  a  volcano,  nor  an  earthquake  in  that  for- 
saken hemisphere  south  of  Capricorn.  If  any  did  exist, 
they  would  be  placed,  like  Hecla  and  Erebus,  as  if  to 
mark  the  proper  bounds  of  the  ocean  currents  in  that 
direction. 

Again,  let  us  suppose,  what  is  probably  true  of  Yenus, 
that  the  axis  of  the  earth,  at  its  creation,  was  inclined 
seventy-five  degrees,  so  that  the  tropical  lines  would  be 
much  farther  apart,  and  very  near  the  poles  ;  of  course, 
in  that  case,  the  currents  from  the  north  would  extend 
farther  over  into  the  southern  hemisphere  than  they  do 
now  ;  and  the  southern  currents  would  reciprocate,  by 
alternately  extending  almost  to  the  north  pole,  and  then, 
in  the  southern  winter,  being  confined  to  the  polar  regions 


COMPARATIVE   GEONOMY.  163 

of  the  southern  hemisphere.  The  consequence  would  be, 
that  the  mountains  would  be  much  higher  in  the  tropics 
than  they  are  now.  The  poles  would  each,  alternately, 
at  one  season,  be  deeply  covered  with  ice  and  snow,  and 
broken  up  by  frost,  and  then,  at  another  season,  over- 
whelmed with  a  flood  of  warm  water  and  solar  heat. 
The  regions  of  the  equator  would  be  loaded  with  detri- 
tus from  each  pole  in  turn,  and  mountain  ranges  would 
consequently  assume  forms  and  directions,  and  rise  to 
heights,  now  unknown  on  this  earth. 

Illustrations  like  these  lead  us  to  regard  our  oceans, 
mountains,  and  shore  lines  with  new  interest,  as  me- 
morials of  changes  produced  by  regular  and  universal 
laws.  The  inequalities  which  form  such  an  important 
feature  in  the  face  of  mother  earth  may  hereafter  be 
considered,  without  fancy,  as  so  many  wrinkles  which 
Time  is  continually  deepening  and  extending  to  mark 
his  inexorable  progress  towards  the  ultimate  decay  of 
terrestrial  nature.* 

If  the  mountains  and  valleys  of  the  earth  are  formed 
by  the  movements  of  the  liquids  upon  its  surface,  the 
same  must  be  true  of  the  moon  and  those  planets  the 
mountains  of  which  can  be  seen  by  the  telescope.  As 
far  as  I  have  been  able  to  examine  the  subject,  the  tel- 

*  "  Amid  these  singular  varieties  one  fact  or  feature  seems  so  uniform,  or, 
at  least,  so  general,  that  the  idea  of  its  being  a  catholic  or  cosmical  feature 
can  hardly  be  evaded  ;  I  mean  the  presence  of  an  upheaving  cause,  that 
grand  energy  which  has  elevated  our  ranges  of  mountains.  In  the  moon, 
especially  in  Mercury,  Mars,  and  Venus,  elevations  of  imposing  magnitude 
unquestionably  exist. 

**  Assuredly  enough  is  already  known  to  demand  the  extension  of  our  views 
regarding  this  wide-spread  energy."  —  Nichols,  On  the  Solar  System. 


164  OUTLINES   OF   GEOXOMY. 

escope  appears  to  confirm  the  doctrines  here  advocated. 
One  view  of  Mars,  as  -depicted  by  Sir  Johu  Herscheb 
exhibits  the  outline  of  a  continent  which  bears  a  strik- 
ing resemblance  to  the  western  outline  of  Africa  and 
Europe  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  land  is  pointed  westward 
in  the  tropics,  and  recedes  eastwardly  towards  both 
poles.  This  is  the  more  strikingly  analogous,  from  the 
fact  that  the  inclination  of  the  axis  of  Mars  is  nearly 
the  same  as  that  of  the  earth,  being  about  twenty-eight 
degrees,  that  of  the  earth  being  twenty-three  and  a 
half  degrees. 

The  mountains  and  valleys  of  the  moon  appear  to  be 
formed  on  an  entirely  different  plan  from  those  of  the 
earth.  They  are  numerous,  short,  circular,  rugged,  and 
precipitous.  If  I  am  correct  in  the  reasoning  by  which 
I  have  concluded  that  the  waters  and  atmosphere  of  the 
moon  have  been  gradually  absorbed  by  its  metallic  sub- 
stances, and  that  the  earth  is  undergoing  the  same 
process,  the  hypothesis  agrees  with  the  telescopic  ap- 
pearances of  the  moon's  surface.  Suppose  that  the 
earth  had  not  possessed  more  than  one  eighth  as  much 
water  and  atmosphere  as  originally  it  did.  Instead  of 
having  a  few  extensive  oceans,  bounded  by  long  ranges 
of  mountains,  as  we  now  have,  we  should  have  had  a 
large  number  of  separated  lakes,  like  the  Caspian,  the 
Aral,  and  the  Superior.  These  would  have  received  all 
the  detritus ;  and,  while  the  crust  of  the  earth  was 
young  and  yielding,  the  bottoms  of  the  lakes  would 
have  subsided,  and  carried  down  with  them  the  rem- 
nants of  the  water  and  the  atmosphere  ;  and  when  they 
finally  all  dried  up,  they  would  have  presented  an  ap- 


COMPARATIVE  GEONOMY.  165 

pearance  not  very  different  from  that  now  exhibited  by 
the  valleys  and  mountains  of  the  moon.  Even  the. 
islands  in  the  lakes  would  be  left  standing  in  their 
midst,  as  they  appear  now  to  stand  in  the  deep  circular 
valleys  of  the  moon.  From  this  it  appears  that  the  ab- 
sence of  a  perfect  atmosphere  and  ocean  from  the  moon, 
while,  at  the  same  time,  it  possesses  mountains,  instead 
of  being  an  evidence  of  the  insufficiency  of  the  geonom- 
ic  theory,  is  but  an  additional  argument  in  its  favor. 

It  should  be  considered  as  another  reason  for  the 
peculiarities  of  the  moon's  surface,  especially  the  short- 
ness of  her  mountain  ranges,  that  the  inclination  of  her 
axis  is  but  about  five  degrees,  and  that  she  is  a  whole 
month  revolving  upon  her  axis  ;  the  consequence  is, 
that  her  poles  must  be  intensely  cold  at  all  times  ;  and 
her  tropics  alternately  hot  one  month  and  cold  the 
next.  Besides,  the  face  of  the  moon,  which  is  towards 
us,  never  turns  away,  since  she  is  just  as  long  in  revolv- 
ing upon  her  axis  as  she  is  in  going  around  the  earth. 
The  tidal  influence  of  the  earth  upon  the  moon  is  com- 
puted to  be  more  than  twenty  times  greater  than  that 
of  the  moon  upon  the  earth  ;  and  this  must  have  a 
peculiar  effect  upon  that  surface  which  is  turned  to- 
wards the  earth.  It  is  a  complicated  question  what 
must  have  been  the  effect  of  the  earth's  attraction  upon- 
the  waters  of  the  moon  when  they  did  exist  and  were 
engaged  in  producing  the  mountains  which  remain  to 
attest  the  former  existence  and  power  of  those  lunar 
oceans  which  have  now  ceased  to  circulate. 

On  the  whole,  the  appearances  of  the  moon's  valleys 
and  mountains  are  not  more  peculiar,  abnormal,  and  at 


166  OUTLINES  OP  GEONOMY. 

variance  with  those  of  the  earth,  than  are  the  circum- 
stances and  conditions  in  which  she  is  known  to  be 
placed.  Besides  these  known  conditions,  it  is  reason- 
able to  imagine  that  there  are  others  which  we  cannot 
know,  and  may  only  conjecture.  It  is  possible,  for  in- 
stance, that  the  surface  of  the  moon  may  be  covered,  in 
part,  by  one  or  more  fluids,  entirely  different  from 
water,  and  more  analogous  to  mercury,  which  could 
produce  all  the  effects  of  an  ocean,  so  far  as  the  eleva- 
tion of  volcanic  mountains  is  concerned,  without  ne- 
cessarily being  accompanied  by  any  atmosphere  like 
ours  ;  but,  while  such  conjectures  may  be  indulged  in 
as  mere  philosophical  amusements,  we  have  no  proper 
mode  of  reasoning  upon  the  subject  except  that  afforded 
by  terrestrial  analogies. 

If  I  am  not  mistaken,  the  outlines  of  the  forms  seen 
on  the  moon's  surface  are  such  as  to  indicate  that  the 
forces  which  produced  them  must  have  moved  more 
nearly  north  and  south  than  otherwise  ;  for  few  of  them 
have  their  long  diameters  east  and  west.  This  appears 
to  be  in  accordance  with  the  fact  that  the  motion  of 
the  moon  upon  its  axis,  from  west  to  east,  is  exceed- 
ingly slow,  and  but  little  calculated  to  communicate 
motions  in  that  direction  to  the  fluids  on  its  surface  ; 
but  the  great  difference  in  temperature  between  the 
poles  and  the  equator  is  such  as  to  promote  a  circula- 
tion in  a  northern  and  southern  direction. 


CONCLUSION.  167 


CONCLUSION. 

That  the  general  reader  may  not  suppose  that  this 
treatise  is  a  mere  theoretical  speculation  or  hypothesis, 
originating  in  the  fancy  of  the  author,  instead  of  con- 
sisting of  deductions  drawn  from  newly-discovered 
facts,  I  subjoin  a  statement  of  some  of  the  facts  which 
are  independent  of  all  theory,  and  which  are  now  for 
the  first  time  announced  to  the  public. 

1.  It  is  a  fact  that  all  ocean  currents,  as  far  as  we 
know,  run  in  irregular  ellipses,  and  that  a  natural  law 
has  always  required  them  to  do  so. 

2.  That  all  large  ocean  currents  run  on  the  western 
coasts  when  proceeding  towards  the  equator,  and  on 
the  eastern  coasts  when,  returning  towards  either  of  the 
poles. 

3.  That  the  ocean  currents  run  alternately  towards 
the  equator  on  the  western  sides  of  continents,  and  then 
from  it  on  the  eastern  sides,  as  follows  :  towards  the 
equator  on  the  west  of  Europe  and  Africa,  then  from  it 
on  the  east  of  the  two  Americas,  then  towards  it  on 
the  west  of  the  two  Americas,  and  from  it  on  the  east 
of  Asia  and  Australia,  next  towards  it  on  the  west  of 
Australia,  and  from  it  on  the  east  of  Africa. 

4.  That  all  the  mountain  ranges  which  run  east  and 
west,  are  found  in  parts  of  the  earth  where  ocean  cur- 
rents always  run  east  and  west,  that  is,  near  the  tropics 
or  near  the  arctic  seas. 

5.  That  all  the  mountain  ranges  in  any  part  of  the 


168  OUTLINES   OF  GEONOMY. 

earth,  that  run  north  and  south,  are  in  situations  — 
that  is,  generally  in  places  between  the  tropics  and  the 
arctic  —  where  the  ocean  currents,  if  they  run  (or  ever 
did  run)  there,  must  pursue  nearly  a  north  and  south 
direction. 

6.  That  the  sizes,  and  directions,  and  forms  of  moun- 
tain curves  and  ranges  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  are 
precisely  what  they  would  be  if  they  were  caused  by 
the  ocean  currents  that  did  once,  or  do  now,  run  in  the 
vicinity. 

7.  That  the  western  sides  of  mountains  generally  bear 
evidence  that  the  ocean  currents  once  ran  from  the  pole 
against  them,  and  the  eastern  sides  show  that  they 
have  been  washed  by  currents  from  the  tropics. 

8.  That  the  abrupt  slopes  of  mountains  are  towards 
the  larger  ocean. 

9.  That  the  principal  ranges  of  mountains  are  nearly 
parallel  with  the  paths  of  the  ocean  currents. 

10.  That  instead  of  the  ocean  being  shallower  in 
those  places  where  the  most  sediment  is  deposited,  it  is 
frequently  deepest  in  those  very  places  ;  yet  the  bottom 
of  the  ocean  is  not  in  the  least  abraded  by  the  currents. 

Besides  the  above  newly-discovered  facts,  which  go  to 
sustain  the  geonomic  theory,  I  believe  that  all  other 
known  facts  accord  with  it. 


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